


Flower Made of Iron

by ZinniaRoseStark



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Avengers - Freeform, Awesome James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Civil War Fix-It, Daddy Issues, Emotional Manipulation, Eventual Relationships, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Iron Man 1, Iron Man 2, Iron Man 3, James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark Friendship, Kidnapping, Mind Manipulation, Parent Tony Stark, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Pregnancy, Protective Steve Rogers, Protective Tony Stark, Slow Burn, Steve Rogers and the 21st Century, Tony Stark Feels, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Torture, Winter Soldier Bucky Barnes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-28
Updated: 2018-06-25
Packaged: 2019-04-28 21:47:58
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 43
Words: 84,669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14458443
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZinniaRoseStark/pseuds/ZinniaRoseStark
Summary: Redo of Iron Skye. Can be read separately. Details inside.Zinnia Stark used to think her life was going to be easy. But when your father is Tony Stark, life would never be easy. After an incident leaves them both changed for good, the father daughter duo have to navigate an entirely new world while trying to keep each other safe and sane. From superheros to aliens to robots trying to take over the world, the two fight more battles than they ever thought they would. Things change even more when a certain Captain steps into the picture. How will Tony keep his daughter safe from this new, dangerous world? What will happen when his least favorite person comes back from the dead and sweeps his daughter off her feet?





	1. A Life Changing Decision

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is the long awaited redo of Iron Skye. It's going to be the same in some aspects, but totally different in others. Zinnia is replacing Skye in this story, both in name and in character. Zinnia is going to be different than Skye, as will their stories. Some things that happened to Skye are going to happen to Zinnia, but a lot of things are going to be different. I will not be making her related to Thor in this one. That plot line really just made the story overall confusing and a bit overdone. Zinny will also not be hosting the Aether. That also was a complicated storyline that was a rather impulsive decision that just wound up making everything harder. This one will also cut off after some point. I have yet to decide, but it's at least going through The Winter Soldier. I may divert the plot there, or decide to go through Civil War. I'll just have to see where the story takes me, but it's looking like Civil War is the end point as far as canon is concerned. I also plan to dive more in depth with Zinny and Steve's relationship this time around. I didn't really do that with Skye and Steve and that was one aspect I wished I could go back and change.
> 
> Anyways, I hope you enjoy this version. And no, you don't have to have read Iron Skye to understand this story. This can be read as a standalone story.
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Updated from the original version.

For once I was glad I had opted out of a trip with my dad. Usually I was eager to spend any time with him that I could, but this time he had gone to Vegas to accept some award, which he probably wasn't even present to receive. I had opted out of going due in part to my disinterest in sitting through another award ceremony and also because Vegas was bright, flashy and nauseating. It was probably the people.

Don't get me wrong, growing up in the public eye had made me insensitive to being surrounded by flashing lights and hoards of people all yelling for your attention. But there was something about Vegas...maybe because it was hot and most everyone was rich and drunk. At least, those were true with my few experiences with Vegas.

Plus Uncle Rhodey was going. I didn't have to worry as much when Uncle Rhodey was there to help corral my dad. Granted, my dad always seemed to find a way out of said corral, but I felt better with Uncle Rhodey there. No, he's not my real Uncle. Or my dad, as some people still seemed to think. Despite it being well known that I'm Tony Stark's daughter, they still manage to confuse me with being Rhodey's daughter. For some reason it always made more sense to put Rhodey in as my dad than to try and picture how Tony could possibly be my dad. Some people could see it, but others you had to stand my dad and I side by side before they'd see the resemblance. They couldn't see past the skin color.

Sometimes I wished Rhodey was my dad. It would have saved a lot of embarrassment from when I was younger. Drunk people at parties and one night stands asking how "that" could possibly be his daughter. Thankfully, even while drunk my dad was smart enough to boot those people to the curb. My dad didn't put up with racist assholes. He'd been under fire when he was with my mom, but he hadn't cared. There was nothing anyone could have said that would have changed his mind about my mom. And there was nothing anyone could say to make him change his mind about me.

Anyways, I was glad I had declined the invitation to go this time, because my dad was rather loud about the one night stand he brought home. Well, at least they were loud going to my dad's room. He had been smart enough to soundproof his room since I once asked my nanny what the strange noises were coming from his room when I was little. She had promptly quit and left that explanation to my dad, something I was sure he was just thrilled about. That was around the same time my dad's new assistant stepped up to be part-time nanny to my dad and I. And amazingly, Pepper was still here, all these years later. I secretly thought my dad had feelings for Pepper, but I'd never say that out loud. They'd both deny it anyways.

I didn't bother getting up when my dad came home. He'd be up early in the morning anyways. He was supposed to be flying to Afghanistan for some weapons demonstration. I was supposed to go with him for what he called daddy-daughter bonding time, but I still hadn't packed my suitcase or given him a definite answer on whether or not I was going. I knew he wouldn't leave on time, which would give me extra time to decide. I wanted to go. It was supposed to be a short trip, but something felt wrong. Something was telling me not to go. Those feelings were making it hard to sleep, hence why I was awake to hear my father's arrival from his trip. I knew if I went, something bad was going to happen. But what if I didn't go? I still felt sick to my stomach thinking about that. Too bad I couldn't see the future.

I finally drifted off a couple hours later, but it wasn't pleasant. That nagging feeling was still tugging at my gut, even when I woke up the next morning. I felt like I was on the verge of panicking, but I couldn't discern why.

I try to steady my nerves as I head down to the kitchen for breakfast, dressed in light clothes in case I make up my mind on whether or not I'm going with my dad. Maybe that's what was causing my anxiety: trying to figure out if I should go or not.

I catch the tail end of the conversation between Pepper and my dad's one night stand. It was going well as usual, Pepper making a joke that didn't go over this one's head this time. Rare. A smart one. She passes me on the way back to my dad's room to get her things. I don't pay her any attention. Most of the one night stands ignore me. It's easier to pretend that Playboy Tony Stark doesn't have a kid than to face the facts. Sometimes my dad employs that frame of mind as well. It's easier now that I'm older, able to know the difference between when I'm wanted in a situation or not. When I was little I just tended to barge into anything and everything looking for attention. But now I knew better. I'm sure I ruined a lot of one night stands for my dad. The bratty little heiress wanting her daddy to read her a bedtime story. The unintentional cockblock. Of course he'd never say that to my face.

After grabbing breakfast I head down to the garage, knowing my dad is more than likely tinkering away at something. He hadn't woken me up, so he was still here. Figures.

Just as I had thought, he's knee deep in working on the engine of his Roadster. I input my code in the door, music blaring once I open the door. He doesn't turn around, oblivious to my entrance as usual.

"Don't you know you're supposed to be on a plane right now?" I ask, coming over to kneel beside him.

"Yup. But it is my plane. It generally won't leave without me. Will you hand me the lug wrench?"

I grab it from beside me, passing it to him, watching him work. "You're really sure you're going?"

He glances at me finally. "Why? Change your mind?"

I shake my head. "Just a feeling."

He gives me a sideways glance before going back to working. I sit back, pulling my knees against my chest as he pulls parts off the engine.

"Did she leave yet?"

"Yup. Pepper sent her on her way. She looked offended. I'm surprised you managed to bring home a smart one."

"I didn't plan to bring her home, it just happened."

"You know you can skip that sugar coating. I'm not a little girl anymore."

He looks at me again, a sad smile tugging at his lips. "I know. Sometimes I forget that."

I smile at him. "It's okay. I may be an adult now, but I'll always be your little girl."

He gives me "the look" before going back to working on the car. I had long ago learned what "the look" was. He had told me a few times that I reminded him of my mother. The way I talked, or the way I looked or even just how I acted. I had never met her. She died not long after I was born. My dad always got quiet and almost melancholy whenever someone mentioned her, or I made the mistake of asking about her. Sometimes he would slip and tell me I reminded him of my mother. But he always got quiet afterwards and dropped the subject. I had stopped asking about her a while ago. It always made him sad, that melancholy, almost bittersweet look in his eyes. I knew he must have cared for her a lot. A part of me blamed her death for his playboy ways. Trying to drown himself in other women to move on from my mom. But another part of me knew that was ridiculous. My dad had been a man whore since before he met my mom.

My thoughts are disturbed as the music turns down significantly, Pepper's high heels clacking against the concrete floor.

"Please don't turn down my music." My dad says, still working on the car.

"You are supposed to be halfway around the world right now." Pepper says, stopping a couple feet away.

"How'd she take it?" My dad asks, talking about the one night stand.

"Like a champ."

"Why are you trying to hustle me out of here?"

"Your flight was scheduled to leave an hour and a half ago."

"That's funny, I thought with it being my plane and all, that it would just wait for me to get there."

"Tony, I need to speak to you about a couple things before I get you out the door."

"Doesn't it kind of defeat the whole purpose of having your own plane if it departs before you arrive?" My dad moves, sitting on the front tire of the Roadster.

"Larry called." Pepper said, interrupting him. "He's got another buyer for the Jackson Pollock in the wings. Do you want it? Yes or no."

"Is it a good representation of his spring period?"

"No. The Springs was actually the neighborhood in East Hampton where he lived and worked, not 'spring' like the season."

"So?"

"I think it's a fair example. Uh, I think it's incredibly overpriced."

"I need it." My dad said, standing up. "Buy it. Store it." He walked over to the mini bar, Pepper following him.

I listen to them banter about my dad's schedule, Pepper trying to keep him serious while my dad was doing what he does best. Pushing everything aside until the last minute so he could decide if it was worth "forgetting" about or not. Something he was very good at. Including forgetting Pepper's birthday which just so happened to be today. I had already given her, her present from me yesterday, not knowing if I was going to see her today or not to give it to her. I had gotten her a necklace to go with the dress she bought for herself from my dad. My dad barely remembered my birthday, much less anyone else's. Sometimes I wonder if he even remembers his own.

My dad finally decides he's going to leave, handing Pepper his espresso cup before pausing by the door. I already know what's coming, trying to make the decision in my head on the spot. Go or not go? My stomach was still in knots, the anxious feeling ever present in the back of my mind.

"You coming, Zinny?"

The words I had been dreading. My heart is starting to pound as I wrestle with my answer for a moment. Would anything change if I didn't go? Would the feeling go away or would it just get worse? I had never felt this way, even though my dad had gone halfway around the world without me many times. And many other times I'd gone with him. No trip we had ever planned had left me feeling this anxious. I always got nervous flying, going new places, but I had always been able to shake it off. But this….this was different. This was a lingering dreadfulness, a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach like something was about to go horribly wrong. Something terrible and lifechanging was about to take place. So I did the only logical thing.

"Of course I'm coming."


	2. Afghanistan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Minor updates from the original version.

I was glad I had slept through the flight to Afghanistan. Apparently my dad had gotten Uncle Rhodey drunk, something I was glad I didn't have to witness. Uncle Rhodey got talkative when he was drunk. Plus it made the flight less nerve wracking than it already was. Despite having spent close to half of my life on a plane, I was still a nervous flyer. Something about being stuck in the air in a giant metal death machine made me nauseous and panicky.

I nearly jumped for joy when our wheels finally touched down. We landed right at Bagram Air Force Base, the area flooded with Airmen, all armed and ready. Frankly it was rather terrifying. The air was hot and dry, blasting me in the face as soon as the door opened. I could already feel a sweat starting to form, glad I had decided on a white cotton shirt. At least my sweat stains wouldn't show right away.

I followed my dad down the stairs, greeting the group of high ranking officials who had gathered to view his weapons presentation. I put on my billion dollar smile, greeting them after my dad, being my normal, polite self. I didn't know how my dad could stand being in his suit, but he had always preferred warm climates. I liked warm weather, but not blazing hot in the middle of the desert. I couldn't wait until this demonstration was over. My dad had promised a stop in Morocco on the way home.

We had to drive to where the demonstration was set up, quite a ways away from the base. I was happy to stand away from the group once we arrived, knowing I looked like a hot mess. The sun was in my eyes and I was more than ready to get this over with. There was a small crowd of Generals and Colonels gathered to watch the demonstration, along with several other Airmen to stand guard in case something happened. But I tried not to focus on that. That nagging feeling still hadn't subsided. I was starting to wonder if I'd made a mistake coming. I shoved that thought aside, trying to distract myself by listening to my dad's speech.

"Is it better to be feared or respected? I say, is it too much to ask for both? With that in mind, I humbly present the crown jewel of Stark Industries' Freedom Line. It's the first missile system to incorporate our proprietary repulsor technology. They say the best weapon is one you never have to fire. I respectfully disagree. I prefer the weapon you only have to fire once. That's how Dad did it. That's how America does it. And it's worked out pretty well so far. Find an excuse to let one of these off the chain and I personally guarantee you the bad guys won't even want to come out of their caves." He motions to the Airmen operating the missile, telling them to start it up.

The missiles aim upward towards the sky before one shoots off into the distance, disappearing in a trail of exhaust. It's silent again in the area as we wait for what happens next.

"For your consideration, the Jericho." My dad spreads his arms as several explosions go off behind him, sending a shockwave right towards us.

It hits us, blasting us with dirt, nearly knocking me off my feet. I steady myself, waiting for the dirt to settle before brushing it off my clothes, hoping none of it stuck to my sweaty face or hair. The men all applaud, congratulating my dad on his design. I knew he didn't come up with the whole design, more like came up with the idea and then sent it into production, letting the professionals create it and work out the kinks. Not that my dad wasn't a professional.

I was more than happy when my dad cracked open the drink crate. I knew he would go for alcohol. The man couldn't go very long without drinking something. But he had a tolerance made of iron. He had to pound some pretty heavy stuff to actually get drunk. Sad that I know that, but I'd witnessed the aftermath plenty of times. I was just happy for the ice. I tried to be inconspicuous as I dropped a couple of ice cubes down my shirt, sighing in relief.

My dad answered a call from Obadiah Stane as I made my way to the Humvees, standing in the shade. Not that I wasn't excited about the business side of my dad's work, knowing one day that would probably be me standing there, giving weapons demonstrations. I was always more interested in how they worked. The engineering side over the business side. I knew my dad preferred to tinker, build stuff, make his own improvements. But he had to be the face of the business as well. He's Tony Stark. His name is on the box.

I was more than happy to be ushered into a Humvee. I was squished next to my dad, but I couldn't complain. He smelled nice. He always smelled nice. He'd worn the same cologne since I was a kid and I could always picture him when I smelled it. One of the nanny's who'd worked for him after my mom died said he had told her it was my mom's favorite. That she had picked it out and he could never bring himself to wear something different. I thought it was sweet, and I definitely didn't mind the scent. My mom had good taste.

Rhodey comes up as my dad shuts the door to the Humvee, trying to get him to change to a different Humvee. Something deep in my brain was telling me to go with Rhodey, but I knew I couldn't change my dad's mind. Man was as stubborn as a mule and I wasn't about to abandon him now.

"So what did you think?" My dad asks me while we start our trip back to base.

"Well...it definitely was destructive."

My dad smiles at me. "It was, huh? I think it's really going to make a difference in people's lives."

I try to keep my sour face hidden. "Yeah. That's for sure."

We drift into silence, the Humvee quiet except for the ACDC my dad had talked them into playing. He sure did love his classic rock. I didn't mean to come off as disinterested, but my dad already knew I wasn't big into weapons. All they did was get people hurt and destroy lives. I knew I couldn't change his mind, it was what his company was built upon, making weapons, changing lives for the better or worse. But it never settled well with me.

Everything was going fine on our drive back to base, my dad joking with the Airmen in our Humvee, being his usual self. Well, it was fine until the Humvee in front of us exploded. Our driver quickly slammed on the breaks, debris from the Humvee remains hitting the front of ours. I could hear gunshots outside.

Everything seemed like it was moving in slow motion. I could tell my dad was as panicked as I was, my heart pounding in my ears. My hands and feet started to go numb and I had to remind myself to breathe. The two airmen in the front seats got out, telling the third sitting in back with us to stay, my dad forcing me down by his feet, shielding me with his body. I was gripping his leg, desperately trying to make sense of what was happening. I could hear gunfire outside, explosions rocking the Humvee.

The Airman who was with us got out, telling us to stay here, barely managing to close the door before there was an explosion, dozens of holes now in the side of the Humvee. I barely registered my dad pulling me up, back into the hot air outside, the explosions louder outside. He kept me shielded, keeping my head down as we stumbled away from the line of fire, my dad pushing me down behind a rock. He was speaking to me, his hands on my face, checking me over for any wounds. I couldn't feel my body at that point so I couldn't tell him if anything was wrong. He pulls me close as more explosions sound around us, keeping my head buried down in his side.

I hear something hit the ground near us, my dad freezing for a moment before frantically pushing me away, shoving me so hard I faceplant into the dirt on the other side of the rock he had been leaning against, moments before something explodes. I hear my dad yell, turning just in time to see him fly backwards a few feet. Everything suddenly snaps back to reality again, and I'm rushing to his side, praying nothing else comes close to hitting us as I kneel in the dirt next to him.

"Daddy?" I look down, blood starting to soak his shirt. More panic starts to bubble in my chest as I help him pull his shirt open, blood soaking through his kevlar vest. "Daddy!" He goes limp, passing out in the dirt and everything goes silent.

I feel like I'm a little girl again, the first time I ever saw my dad drunk. He had been at a party and decided to continue it at home. He was so drunk he could barely stand, and I had woken up hearing the ruckus he was making in the living room. I hadn't known anything was wrong so I had gone down there, only to see him stumbling over himself, trying to drink from a bottle of some kind of alcohol, only to miss and pour it down his shirt. He had seen me in that moment, dropping the bottle and I watched it shatter on the floor, spilling the sour smelling liquid in a puddle. He had stumbled towards me, slurring something about going back to bed. He had tried to take me back, but his drunk mind and misjudged the staircase and he had fallen headfirst into the concrete steps. He had cut his head pretty bad, and managed to knock himself out. I sat there, shaking him, desperately trying to wake him as JARVIS had already called an ambulance and my dad's assistant at that time.

That was the first time anyone had ever questioned my dad's ability to parent me. The state had tried to make a case, but my dad had powerful lawyers and the press behind him. It wasn't the last time they tried, but they quickly learned they weren't going to get anywhere. My dad had money and power and very convincing lawyers who were very good at their jobs.

At the time I hadn't known that it was the anniversary of my mother's death. I was too young to understand, but quickly I learned his pattern. His drinking always got worse around that time, escalating to the day of her death, and then tapering off afterwards. And here, on this battlefield in the middle of Afghanistan, I felt like that little girl again, helpless, waiting for someone to help.

I didn't know I was screaming for help until I heard the footsteps approaching. Later on, looking back, screaming was the worst mistake I could have made in that moment. But I didn't know what was happening. I didn't know any better. I was in shock, my father bleeding and possibly dying in front of me. There was no way anyone could have heard me over the gunfire. But someone had.

I hear them approaching, and I turn to look, but they had the sun to their back, keeping them hidden. In the last moment that I was conscious on that battlefield, I probably should have ran. Should have done anything other than sit there, staring up at this strange person like an idiot.

The figure raises something over their head, later I would learn a rifle, bringing it down on my head hard, effectively knocking me unconscious.


	3. Alone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zinny wakes up in pain in an unknown place.
> 
> Minor updates from the original version.

I woke up to my dad yelling in pain. The sound was echoing and distant, but I knew it was him. It took me a moment to remember what had happened. The weapons demonstration, the attack on the Humvees, the explosion and my dad bleeding out on the ground in front of me. And the person who had pistol whipped me into oblivion. I didn't know where we were or what was happening, but I was sure we weren't back at the base. The smell was damp and cool, matching the air. I tried to take a deep breath, only to regret that immediately. Searing pain erupts in my head, my brain feeling like it's pulsating, nausea stirring in my stomach. I whimper as I feel the vomit start to rise, unable to hold it so I turn on my side, ignoring the blinding pain as I empty the contents of my stomach on the floor.

I'm on a cot, I can tell by the rough fabric beneath my hands and the way it creaked when I turned. I keep my eyes closed, my head pounding as I try to keep from passing out or vomiting again. The screaming is still going, only making the nausea worse. I don't know what's happening, he could be in the midst of being tortured for all I know. The thought makes me vomit again, nothing but bile coming up this time. I don't know how long I've been unconscious, or how long the yelling has been going on.

I roll myself back over, flopping back on the cot. It was a big mistake, already the nausea coming back. I force it down, trying to ignore the painful pounding in my head. I crack my eyes open, trying to see if I can figure out what kind of situation we're in.

I'm in a small room, the walls and ceiling all made of rock. There's a dim light hanging on the opposite wall, the fluorescent light making my eyes burn. The cot is shoved in the corner against the back wall, the fourth wall open in a large hole, a makeshift curtain acting as a door. There's a thin pillow under my head, offering hardly any support, but I doubted it would make any difference with my headache.

I close my eyes again, trying to will away the headache, but nothing helps. I can feel it, pulsing with every beat of my heart. I'm still woozy, feeling like I'm on the verge of vomiting and passing out at the same time. I listen to the yelling, trying to gauge how far away it is, but I know sounds in caves are hard to distinguish. Some caves could distort sound so something coming from one direction could sound like it's coming from a different direction. I wanted to know what was happening, but I was in no shape to move.

Eventually the yelling stops, the cave seeming eerily quiet without it now. I could hear the blood rushing in my ears at the sudden change of volume. I didn't want to know what had just happened. I prayed that my dad had only passed out or maybe fallen asleep. I had to pray that he wasn't dead. I was helpless and vulnerable, something I loath feeling.

I'm not sure how much time pases. It could be hours or days, or it could be minutes. I feel like I lay there for an eternity. I get so bored I start to count the pulses of pain in my head. I shove down nausea as it rises, trying to figure out how I could get to my dad. It was wishful thinking. I couldn't stand, I couldn't hardly move, much less fight if I had to. I could easily be beaten, another hit to my head and it would more than likely put me down for good. I didn't know how many there were, or even who they were. How many weapons they had, obviously enough to take out a Humvee and attack a military convoy long enough to take my dad and I without them being seen or caught.

In reality, I didn't stand a chance. But that didn't stop me from trying to make a plan.

Something moves outside the room I'm in, the curtain being pulled back, my headache amplifying the sound. I make out footsteps nearing my cot, a voice shouting in a language I can't understand. His voice is too loud, making me wince. I don't open my eyes, trying to fool him into thinking I'm unconscious again.

Someone else comes into the room, throwing water down on the ground, some of it splashing me. I assume they're washing away my vomit. The man says something to me in another language, and I can tell by his tone that it's nothing nice. He leaves, the room descending into silence again. I stay still, listening for any sign of movement, but I don't hear any. I crack my eyes open again, finding myself alone in my room. I turn my head slowly, trying to keep my eyes focused on one point so I don't vomit again. I have the feeling if that man has to come back to clean up more, he won't be so nice about it a second time.

I look down, the vomit indeed having been washed away, but he had left the bucket there. It's empty, and I assume it's in case I vomit again. I make a silent promise to try and aim for the bucket, not wanting to make more messes.

I don't know how long I lay there after they clean. I take to trying meditation, clearing my head, but it's hard when you have a hammer hitting it every second. My focus is skewed, listening to sounds outside my room, people coming and going, yelling in several different languages. I didn't understand any of them, my dialects limited to English and a handful of French thanks to my dad.

I feel exhausted, wanting to do nothing more than sleep, but I know with the pounding in my head that'll be nearly impossible. But stubbornly I still try, refusing to give in to the pain. I start a mantra, trying to push through the pain but I know it's hopeless. I wasn't going to sleep anytime soon.

Sometime later, I'm not sure how long, the curtain to my room is pulled back again. Someone different comes in this time, nearing my cot. This person's footsteps are lighter, more hesitant. The other man, the first one that had visited my room since I woke up speaks to the new person, his tone commanding. I don't know what's about to happen, but I'm sure I should be more afraid. But in that moment, I was in too much pain to care. I would have welcomed death with open arms. Okay, I was being a bit dramatic, but my head felt like there was a hammer driving a nail into it every second.

The newcomer sits down on the edge of my cot, speaking to me softly. "Are you awake, Ms. Stark?"

I groan, attempting to open my eyes, only managing a small slit. Thankfully the room is still dimly lit, making it easier to work my eyes open. It takes a moment for my eyes to adjust, and through my squinting, and I see a man leaning over me. He's older, balding and wearing glasses. His eyes are kind and focused as he looks down at me. He sets something down on the floor next to my cot before touching my forehead.

"No fever, that is good." He has an accent, one I can't quite place. He holds something up in front of my face, his other hand opening my eyelid wider.

Suddenly a bright light assaults my eyes, making me roll them away from the offensive device. Thankfully he turns it off, letting me go and I close my eyes, trying to settle the hammer beating my skull again. He gently presses his fingers along my head, feeling the area where the pain is the worst.

"Does your head hurt?"

I make the mistake of trying to nod, pain blaring through my head and down my neck again. My stomach churns and I try to roll to the side, the movement making me nearly black out. Thankfully he seems to understand, one hand picking up the empty bucket, his other cradling my neck, supporting my head so I can vomit into the bucket. Nothing but bile comes up, making me wonder how long it had been since I'd eaten.

I empty the bile out of my stomach, the man gently laying me back on the bed, keeping one hand under my head. Something wet touches my face, wiping the vomit off my mouth. It's cold, a relief to the sweat that had formed at the force of my vomiting.

"I'm going to help you drink something now. Drink slowly. You will make yourself sick again if you drink too much too quickly."

He lifts my head up again, going slow to avoid aggravating my sensitive system again. I'm grateful for that, but not as grateful as I am when the cup touches my lips, offering up cool water. I didn't know how clean it was, but I had never tasted anything better in that moment. I drink slowly, the man only offering me a sip at a time. I start to feel a little better, finally getting fluids into my system.

He only lets me drink a cup's worth of water, letting me relax against the cot again before turning to the man in the doorway, speaking to him in another language. The other man frowns, asking a question and obviously doesn't look happy about the answer. But he nods anyways, holding the curtain aside, motioning for the kind man to leave. He turns back to me, smiling softly.

"I will return to check on you soon. They will remember to feed you and give you water now."

And with that he gets up, leaving me alone in the room once again.


	4. Making Promises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zinnia heals, only to find herself worse off than before. Tony wakes up a changed man and learns the fate of his daughter. Warning: some light torture in this one, but nothing too graphic.
> 
> Minor edits done from the original version.

I had been in that room for what felt like ages. My head no longer hurt as bad and I was able to at least stand up to use the bathroom. They had started bringing me food, mostly a grey looking stew that tasted about as appetizing as it looked. I had only seen the kind man, who I learned was named Yinsen, twice since his first initial visit. He was a doctor, and our captors brought him in to check on my condition. He said my concussion was healing well, no danger of me being brain damaged or dying in my sleep.

Being left alone in that room had allowed me to slip into a false sense of security. I should have been more worried, but I had only seen two men out of the many that inhabited the cave. I hadn't seen or heard my dad in a long time. It made me sick with worry, thinking about all of the possibilities.

I spent a little too much time worrying, something that came back to bite me in the ass later on. Early one morning I was yanked out of my precious sleep, quite literally, when two men barged their way into my room, yanking me out of bed. A bag is placed over my head and I'm dragged through a twisting, turning maze until I feel something hot against my skin, light coming in through the bag.

They rip the bag off my head, and I'm blinded by the sun. I had never seen anything so bright, my headache coming back full force from the light. I try to blink the spots out of my eyes as I'm dragged away from the mouth of the cave, the entire area below us filled with crates and cases of weapons. I see many I recognize as Stark weapons, some of them baring the name right across them. Fear starts to course through me, the reality of the situation starting to set in. The time I'd spent holed up in that room had tricked me into thinking I was safe. But I was far from it.

The men drag me down to an area to the left of the cave, another man standing there with a hose. The men holding me let me go, the man with the hose turning it on. The force of the water hits me hard and I barely have time to brace myself before I'm shoved back against the rocks behind me. The water stings my skin, and I turn, trying to stand somewhere where it doesn't hurt. The man keeps spraying me, the water biting at my skin and I try to keep it away from my face. It doesn't take long before I'm soaked to the bone, but I know it won't last long in sun. The water is cold, but with how hot it was it was a relief.

The men are looking me over, and I'm suddenly self conscious of how see through my shirt is. These men probably hadn't seen a woman in a long time. Fear eats away at my stomach as I realize I'm surrounded, a wounded gazelle cornered by twenty hungry lions. No. I wasn't going to give them what they wanted. I was going to fight my way out of this if I had to.

The first man sneaks up on me, grabbing my arm, but I quickly turn, kicking at his legs. He's taken by surprise, and I manage to knock one leg out from under him, forcing him down on one knee. I kick myself mentally for never taking Happy's self defense lessons seriously. I was flying blind here, working off of pure instinct.

Another man is on me in a second, grabbing at me, pulling me away from the first. Before I can think of how to fight him off, he's shoving me against another man. This one's shorter, not much taller than me, but he's nearly double my size strength wise, easily shoving me to the ground. I try to catch myself, but I sit down hard, momentarily stunned by the impact. A new man is grabbing the back of my shirt now, tugging my up to my feet and I turn, kicking out with my foot, but he catches it with his other hand. He shoves me again, the men yelling at me, some of them laughing. A fourth man has joined in now, catching me before I can run, shoving me back on the ground. I catch myself before I face plant, gravel and sand digging into my palms. They're all laughing now, one of them nailing me in the back with his foot.

I cry out, lurching forwards as pain erupts up my back. My head is pounding again, the jostling from being tossed around aggravating my concussion again. A hand tangles in my hair this time, lifting me off the ground. I kick out angrily again, nailing one of them in the crotch, but it only rewards me with a punch to the stomach. It was a solid hit and I had no time to brace for it, doubling over, vomiting on the ground. The men all take a step back, sharing words of disgust before I'm dragged off the ground again.

I'm shoved in the direction of the two men that had dragged me out of my room, one of them putting the bag back on my head before I'm led back to my room. They toss me in rather roughly, and I hit the ground hard on my side. I lay there for a moment, trying to catch my breath. Something else is thrown into my room, landing softly by my feet. I sit up a little, aching already from the bruises I know are forming. There's a bundle of fabric at my feet: clean clothes.

I look down at my torn and bloody shirt, my muddy pants torn too from my impacts with the ground, stained and spoiled from...other incidents. They're still a little wet, chilling me in the cold cave. I peek out of the curtain, one man standing guard, facing my door. There was no sign of anyone else so I quickly change, the new clothes scratchy, but warm. I pile my disgusting clothes in the corner before curling up on my cot. I can still hear the men jeering at me, laughing as I was thrown around so easily. I can feel their hands on me, aching from where they left bruises.

I let the tears fall finally, wanting nothing more than to see my dad, to know he's alright. I want to be a little girl again, safe in my daddy's arms, knowing nothing will ever hurt me as long as he's around.

3RD POV:

Tony didn't feel well when he woke up. The feeling had stayed with him, even after he'd gotten as adjusted to he could to being hooked to a car battery, while an electromagnet in his chest kept shrapnel from entering his heart and killing him. His cellmate had been to thank for that. The man's calm unnerved Tony, but he could respect being calm in a tough situation. Tony always tried to radiate an aura of calm and nonchalant ease. But right now his organs felt like they were playing twister. He had been on his way back to the base in Bagram when they were attacked. He had tried to get his daughter to safety, keeping her away from the line of fire, but that hadn't gone as planned when he'd been taken out by his own weapon. He remembered the missile, shoving her back, praying she wouldn't get hit. Being thrown back by the explosion, the pain in his chest before he passed out. He remembered seeing her face above him, the terrified look in her eyes as she'd watched her father pass out. He hadn't known what happened then, maybe she had gotten away.

He watched as his cellmate stirred some mystery stew over a fire. He seemed rather well adjusted to being in this cave. He wondered how long the man had been here, and why he was here.

"Did they bring in a girl? Young, kind of looks like me?"

The man gives him a look. "Yes."

Tony doesn't know how to feel. "Is she alright?"

"She was badly concussed when they brought her in. They had me look over her a couple times to make sure there was no serious damage done. I can assure you she is alright. Or she was when I saw her last."

"Where is she?" He didn't know whether to be relieved or upset. His daughter was stuck in this mess with him, but she was still alive.

"They're keeping her alone deeper in the caves." The man sees the look on Tony's face, contemplating whether he could break out and find her before escaping. "You'd have to pass through their main area of operation to get to her. They are not sloppy. This is all very well thought out."

Tony doesn't feel any better about that. He wanted to see his daughter, make sure she was alright with his own eyes. The man is talking to him again, but he's hardly listening. His mind is reeling, trying to process everything without knowing anything.

"Where are we?"

The man goes to answer, but the hatch on the door slides open, a man yelling something in a foreign language. His cellmate pulls him up on his feet, telling him to do exactly as he does. They put their hands on the back of their heads, watching as a group of men come in. Six of them are armed with Stark weapons he recognizes, the one in the middle obviously their leader. He stops in the entryway, raising his arms and speaking. Tony recognizes his own name, but nothing else. The man walks closer as he finishes talking, motioning for his cellmate to translate.

"He says 'Welcome, Tony Stark, the most famous mass murderer in the history of America.'" The leader says something else, his cellmate translating. "He is honored." The man says something, holding out a picture. "He wants you to build the missile. The Jericho missile that you demonstrated." His cellmate shows him the picture of the missile.

Tony's mind is reeling, knowing he can't put a weapon like that in the hands of these people who would more than likely use it to reap mass destruction on innocent people. Thinking that sounded rather hypocritical to Tony, after all, that's what his weapons were used for. It was easy to turn away from the carnage, the innocent lives that are lost when the weapons are in the hands of your allies, but in the hands of potential enemies, the thought was sickening.

Maybe he should have listened to Zinnia when she had begged him during a hormonal teenage rant about why making weapons was wrong and how much she hated him for it. She had gotten over her anger and her tantrum after a few days, but the ideals had never really left her. She didn't approve of what Stark Industries did and he knew she wanted nothing to do with the company, but he couldn't just make his company not produce weapons anymore. Nothing was that simple. But right now, it was sounding like a good idea.

He looks at the large man, wanting to think his face is kind, but he knows better. This man held Tony's life in his hands, and his daughters. But that willful, stubborn Stark spirit refused to take the passenger seat even in this moment.

"I refuse."

What happens next is a blur to Tony. They had tortured him, forcing him to try and build the weapon, nearly drowning him in the process. At the time, getting the electromagnet wet probably wasn't the best idea, but he wasn't thinking about that. All he could think about was that it was better him than his daughter.

They forced a bag over his head, leading him out of the caves. He was disoriented, men surrounding him as they lead him towards the light. They stop at the mouth of the cave, the leader calling for the bag to be removed, and Tony is instantly blinded by the sunlight.

They're in a valley, mountains of rock surrounding them, but a few feet below them, hundreds of cases of weapons are stored under tarps, hiding them from any view from above. Tony is in shock, nearly falling as he's shoved forwards into the mass of weapons, all of them bearing his name.

They stop in the middle of the collection, the leader telling him that they have everything he needs to build the missle. Tony still doesn't want to do it, but when he hears a struggle near the mouth of the cave, his mind changes completely.

Two more men come down, dragging his daughter between them. She's dropped roughly on her knees in front of him, the men's guns trained on her. She's hunched over, swimming in the clothes that she'd been given to change into. She looks up at him, her face pale and thin, those bright doe eyes that used to be carbon copy's of his are now dull and lifeless. There's dark circles around her eyes and a bruise on the side of her face. Tony's mouth goes dry, thinking about all of the things that could have happened to her while they were separated.

The large man says something to him, his cellmate translating slowly.

"He says you will build the missile...or he will kill your daughter. Build the missile, and he will set you both free."

Tony's stomach drops as he looks at the guns pointed at her. He knew they'd just force him after they killed her. She was taken to be the ransom. Whoever had sold them out, knew she would be there with him. He kicks himself for even bringing her to such a dangerous place. But he had trusted Rhodey to keep them safe. But this was outside of anyone's control.

"I'll do it."

"Daddy...no!" Her voice is weak, strained like she's in pain and he wants nothing more than to take her into his arms and fly them out of there. Get her to safety.

"On one condition. My daughter is to be with me at all times."

His cellmate translates, and the man looks down at Zinnia before turning back to Tony, holding out his hand. Tony shakes his hand, knowing he's going to have to get creative if he wants to get his daughter out of this alive.


	5. Breaking Promises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Minor edits to the original version in this chapter. Some violence at the end as well.

As soon as we get back into the cave where my dad was being kept he's all over me. He's searching every inch, his face getting more and more grave every time he sees a bruise or a cut. There's still gravel embedded in my palms, the tiny pieces I couldn't get out myself. The bruise on my face where I'd been forced to the ground the day before an ugly shade of blue. My dad always said blue looked good on me. But I guess he wasn't implying this situation when he said that.

When the men had released me, my dad had pulled me into his arms, holding me in a way that shielded me with his body subconsciously. I had never been so happy to see him before. I forgot all of those times he'd hurt me, all of those times he'd pretended I didn't exist. All of the birthdays he forgot, the times he pushed me aside for some woman who would never satisfy his needs. All the times I'd seen him drunk, at his worst, all those times the state tried to take me away because he was obviously unfit to be a father were nothing in this moment.

I cling tightly to him, refusing to let him go as the door slams shut, locking the three of us in this cave together. I didn't care though. I was back with my dad. I hated being so vulnerable, so weak in front of him. I had always told myself that I had to be strong for him. I am a Stark. I couldn't show emotion. I couldn't show myself being weak. I had to be strong. I had to fight no matter what to be on top. But right now, none of that mattered. I was a little girl again, needing her daddy. Before I understood the world, before I understood that my dad had problems, that he'd never love me as much as he loved to party, drowning himself in booze and women. I was that little girl who had sat by her father's side while he laid on the floor, drunk and bleeding because he missed my mom so much he had to drown himself to forget.

My dad immediately wrapped me up in an extra jacket, making comments about how thin I was, holding me close to him by the fire to keep me warm. It was colder in this room, probably due to the size of it. The events of the day had quickly taken their toll on me, and I found myself asleep, curled up next to the fire with my head on my dad's lap. I wasn't sure how long I slept, but I woke up starving to the smell of food.

My dad had moved me to a cot, two blankets draped over me. He was sitting near the fire, talking with Yinsen. I couldn't hear what they were saying, but I figured they were talking about figuring a way out of here. My stomach was aching, the bruise hurting more than anything. My dad hadn't seen that one thankfully. It's a nasty purple color, tender and painful even with just my breathing. Moving earlier had been excruciating, but I had been tough for my dad. I'm a Stark. I'm supposed to be tough.

Later on, some time the next day, my dad has the men bring in stuff for him to start on the missile, Yinsen translating order after order to get everything set up. I stay out of the way, watching the chaos as stuff is brought in, weapons, tools, safety gear. I didn't know what my dad was planning, but I knew it had to be big.

The chaos settles a few hours later, the men all leaving us be. The cave sounds eerily silent once they leave, Yinsen getting started on more mystery stew while my dad looks over everything, making sure it's all there. I watch him, recognizing the concentrated look on his face. He always got that look when we was working, focusing so much he sometimes forgot what time it was. I'd seen him go down to his garage in the morning and work nonstop until dinner, not even realizing he had worked that long. Time meant nothing to my dad. Something I resented him for.

Yinsen standing in front of me pulls me from my thoughts. He hands me a bowl of soup and I take it, thanking him. He takes a seat next to me, and we watch my dad taking a mental inventory.

"You look like you are in pain." Yinsen says quietly to me.

I turn to look at him, hiding the internal panic. "I'm fine." Yinsen gives me a knowing look. I sigh, turning back to look at my dad. "I don't need to worry him any more than he already is. He's got enough on his plate right now."

Yinsen nods in understanding. "But if it gets too unbearable, you will tell me, yes?"

I nod. "I will. I promise."

The next day my dad is setting in to work, breaking down missiles to pull out parts that he needs to create a miniaturized arc reactor. Yinsen and I watch him, Yinsen telling him about the men who took us captive, the Ten Rings. A terrorist group that were fairly terrifying. I was halfway listening while watching my dad work, memorizing what he's doing. He breaks off the front of a missile, pulling out a part that has a palladium chip in it. He tells Yinsen what he's doing, having the two of us go and break down more missiles, bringing him the parts with the palladium in it.

My dad works on making a mold for the palladium while I put it in a cup to melt it down in the fire. Yinsen pulls it out, pouring it into the mold, given he has the steadiest hands out of all of us. My dad works tirelessly for almost two days making the reactor, using his ability to forgo sleep to get it done.

He finally starts coming up with his plan, showing Yinsen the blueprints we put together overnight for the suit. It was his idea, our ticket out of here and to safety. Was it dangerous? Absolutely. Was our chance of success low? You betcha. But it was either try or die, and we were gonna die anyways if we didn't try, so why not? Sure, it was a bit crazy, but when you're desperate, crazy starts to seem less...well, crazy.

Yinsen replaces the electromagnet with the arc reactor after my dad is sure it will work. I hold my breath during the small operation, terrified that something will go wrong, but it all goes smoothly. He looks strange, with the glowing thing in his chest, but it definitely makes moving around easier, not having to carry around a car battery everywhere. I keep mainly out of their way as they work, trying not to aggravate my stomach anymore. The bruise was starting to fade, turning from ugly blue to a green around the edges. It was a good sign that maybe things were healing, but it still hurt like a bitch.

The three of us work for what feels like months, trying to build the suit while being inconspicuous about it. I helped my dad as much as I could, figuring it wasn't very different from fixing cars. I had been wrong of course, but my dad was patient, showing me as much as he could, as quickly as he could.

I knew he was pushing himself because of me. I was sleeping more, the mystery stew doing nothing but keeping me on the brink of life as I lost more and more weight. I was always cold, taking to sleeping near the fire to keep myself warm. And when my dad slept, I curled up with him, feeding off his warmth. He wasn't looking much better. He was getting thin as well. His hair was scraggly, and he hadn't been keeping up on his shaving. Some would have probably compared him to a hobo. Tony Stark looking like a homeless person. I knew some people would have to see it to believe it.

My dad always put care into how he looked. He always wore expensive suits, had to have the best looking watches. Even down to his designer underwear. That care transferred to me, and even when I was little he was putting me in designer clothes. I always had to have the best. Nothing could be cheap or plain. At least not in public. When we were at home, my dad preferred t-shirts and jeans to fancy suits. I agreed with him, choosing comfort over style when I didn't have to go anywhere. But whenever we went out, we had to be the best looking. Starks always had to be the best.

I had been almost asleep when we got a visit again. It had been a few weeks since we had started on our project, things moving along quickly, until we were interrupted. I groggily get to my feet, putting my hands on my head as several men march into the room, more than normal for visits. It looked like half of their army was with them. Then I realized why.

He radiated power. I could feel it from where I was standing. I was used to the kind of confidence and power my dad radiated, but this man...he was different. He walked with confidence, like a man who knows he's in charge and has your life in his hands. In this case that was literal. He was almost too calm, and when he tells us to relax, I almost don't believe he's serious. I can see the same look on my dad's face.

He approaches my dad, moving his shirt to the side to inspect the arc reactor. "The bow and arrow once was the pinnacle of weapons technology. It allowed the great Genghis Khan to rule from the Pacific to the Ukraine. An empire twice the size of Alexander the Great, and four times the size of the Roman Empire." He moves over to the makeshift table next to my dad, picking up his makeshift blueprints for the suit. "But today, whoever holds the latest Stark weapons rules these lands. And soon, it will be my turn." He moves back in front of my dad, switching languages, speaking with Yinsen this time.

They share a few words, Yinsen starting to get visibly nervous. My stomach starts to twist in knots, and I look at my dad. He's watching the two men, and I can see through the mask on his face that he's worried too. The two men glance at me and suddenly I feel a spotlight on me. I had never been nervous in the spotlight before, but now I was terrified. He says something and two men come forward, grabbing my arms, holding me between them. My heart is pounding now, my gaze set on my dad's face and I can see through that mask again. The worry is replaced with sheer terror.

The man walks over to me, looking me up and down. I feel like I'm going to vomit again, but I know that would be a very bad idea. He stops in front of me, his hand gripping my chin. "Such a pretty face. I can see the family resemblance." He gets closer to me, and I can feel his breath on my face. "I hate to waste a pretty face. Perhaps I will keep her, once you build the missile."

I don't know what made me do it. Maybe it was the fear. Maybe it was the disgust at his words. Maybe it was the anger that this man thought he could just treat us like slaves, make us fear him by threatening us. Maybe it was all of it mixed together. I don't know what stirred in me, maybe the spirits of every feminist who ever lived, every woman who had ever been treated as property by a man before, the spirit of every one of my ancestors that had been a slave to another person rising in me. When he turns to look at me again, I spit in his face.

The entire room freezes for a few seconds. Even the creeper in front of me freezes, slowly lifting his hand to wipe my loogie off his cheek. Bad idea? Definitely. But did it feel good in that moment? Hell yeah it did.

I see his hand coming, but I was still riding a high which gave me no time to prepare for it. His hand hits my face with a slap so loud it echoes in the cave. My head snaps to the side, my neck cracking painfully at the force of it. I was sure if I hadn't been held up right then, I would have gone flying backwards. The sting comes next, hot, burning pain on my face from where he backhanded me. I can feel where his ring cut into my cheek, leaving a line of torn skin and bruises in its wake. I'm still in shock as he grips my chin, pulling a wicked looking knife out of his jacket. He holds it up to my face, murder clear in his eyes and I know in that moment, I'm about to die.


	6. Escape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The escape attempt finally comes.
> 
> Minor edits from the original version.

"Wait!" The knife stops millimeters from my face. Big ugly turns slightly to look at my dad. He's got a look of panic now, his eyes pleading for this crazy man to listen. "Tomorrow. I'll finish your missile by tomorrow. But if you hurt her, you'll never get it."

The man's grip loosens slightly, the knife moving away from my face. He nods to the two men and they let me go, my jelly legs making me drop to the floor. Crazy man looks down at me, before turning back to my dad.

"You have until tomorrow to assemble my missile. No later." He pockets the knife, turning on his heel, leaving the room. The men follow him, the last two shutting the doors.

My dad waits until the lock clicks before rushing to my side, falling to his knees beside me. He cups my face, his thumb running lightly over the cut on my cheek. "What the hell were you thinking?"

I open my mouth to try and speak, but nothing comes out. I was still in shock of what had happened. What I had done. My dad pulls me into his arms, holding me tight. He takes a shaky breath in, refusing to let me go for what feels like hours. I don't care though. We were both dirty, half dead and trapped in a place we were likely to die in. But all I wanted to do in that moment was be held by my dad.

But eventually he had to let me go. He had a suit to finish and figure out how to get us out in less than a day. Yinsen checks my face as my dad gets back to work, in overdrive to get everything finished by the time they come to get us.

"Nothing's broken and the cut shouldn't scar." He says, washing the cut with some water. "That was a very brave thing you did."

"Brave, and stupid."

He smiles a little. "I know where you get that from." He glances over at my dad. "I will make sure you two get out of here. No matter what happens tomorrow."

I don't like what he's implying, but it was touching. This man who had only met my dad once before when he had been drunk, who we had just spent months with, being held hostage in a cav,e was willing to do anything to help us. It gave me a weird feeling. I was so used to seeing people do things to impress my dad or to get some money, having someone do something out of the kindness of their heart was strange.

Yinsen and I helped my dad as much as we could, fighting back the exhaustion to finish everything. We were being driven forward by the adrenaline, the threat clear. We had to get out by tomorrow, otherwise things were going to get very ugly for us.

We finally finished early in the morning, getting everything set up as quickly as possible. Yinsen attaches his bomb to the door, meant for a distraction and a way to stop the first wave. I help my dad into his makeshift protective gear as Yinsen gets the armor set up for my dad. I help him get the armor put together, my dad reciting the way out. He was going to lead the way, and then Yinsen and I would follow.

Our plan was set off early though, when a couple of men came looking for us. They were speaking Hungarian, one of the few languages Yinsen didn't speak. I duck down behind my dad, knowing they're going to open the door, triggering the explosion which sends them, and lots of debris flying.

"Zinny, go start the power sequence. You remember how to do it?"

I nod, going over to the computer. My hands are shaking as I type, starting up the sequence. "Function 11, control 'I', Enter." The progress bar starts moving slowly. "I got it. It's going."

Yinsen finishes suiting my dad up, but the progress bar is still moving slowly.

"Make sure the checkpoints are clear, then you two follow me out, okay?"

I nod, but Yinsen is looking at the computer screen. "I'm going to go buy you some time." He runs through the doors, grabbing one of the machine guns.

"Stick to the plan! Yinsen!" My dad tries to yell after him, but he's stuck.

I watch in shock as he runs into the caves, firing the machine gun. The progress bar was still moving too slow, my dad trapped in the suit.

"Zinny. Zinny look at me." I look up at him, tears in my eyes. "You're going to hide. Wait for me to get a bit ahead, and then follow me out, okay? I'll meet you at the cave entrance, and we'll fly out together, okay?"

"Daddy...I can't do it. I can't." My lip trembles as the fear washes over me. We were so close to getting out, but anything could go wrong and stop us.

"Hey, Zinnia, look at me." I look up into his eyes, tears shining in them. "You can do this. You're my brave little girl. I promise I won't let anything happen to you. I'm gonna get us out of here, okay? You can be brave just for a little while longer, okay?"

I nod, wiping my nose with my jacket. "Okay, daddy."

I move to my hiding spot behind some empty crates, the lights starting to flicker as the suit powers up, and we get ready to make our move. I stay hidden, waiting for the sound of my dad's movement, but he goes silent, footsteps approaching in the gravel outside the door. I keep my head down, holding my breath. I hear the suit move, gunshots ringing out, bouncing around the room and I flatten myself on the ground. My bruised stomach protests, but I can't help it, not wanting to catch a stray bullet in the face.

The shooting stops, my dad moving out towards the cave entrance, taking care of the shooters before moving down the hallway. I wait until I can't hear the suit anymore and the gunshots are distant before making my way out. I creep along the hallways, following the way my dad had said, though it's not hard. It was more like follow the bodies.

I hear explosions up ahead, slowing down a bit until they stop, taking a deep breath. Either I was going to find my dad, or I was going to walk right to my death. I had to be brave. I'm a Stark. Stark's are always brave.

I come to the opening of the cave, finding my dad standing over Yinsen's body. "Dad?"

He looks up at me, tears in his eyes. "He's gone." I move to approach him, but he holds his hand up. "There's going to be others outside waiting. Stay behind me."

I nod, swallowing back my tears. "Okay. I trust you."

I stay behind the wall of the cave, my dad moving out into the open, getting shot at by dozens of machine guns. They fire for a few seconds before stopping, not a single one piercing the armor. It's quiet for a few seconds more before my dad fires up the flamethrowers, bathing the men outside in flame. I can feel the heat from behind him, already sweating in my jacket. He moves out of the cave entrance, making his way through the stacks of weapons, lighting them all on fire. I follow behind him, keeping close. The heat of the fire is nearly unbearable, and I can't imagine what it's like in that suit. More men start shooting at us, weapons cases starting to explode behind us.

"Dad!" I yell, not wanting to get caught in an explosion.

He turns, wrapping his metal arms around me, and I wrap my arms around his neck as he starts the repulsors at the bottom of his suit, lifting us off the ground just in time. We fly straight up, the force of the explosion below us rocketing us skyward. I hold on for dear life, the air turning cold around us for a moment as we fly into the air.

We have enough power to get us over the mountains, but almost as soon as we get into the air the suit loses power, and we start a freefall to the ground. I feel the suit starting to come apart around me and my dad pushes me away from him, letting me fall in a different direction as we near the ground. I'm glad he did, as I hit the ground after him, his impact leaving a miniature explosion of sand.

You'd think sand would be a good landing place. Sand is soft, loose, kind of like snow but hot. No. Landing in the sand was like doing a belly flop onto a snow pile that you think is deep, but instead there's an ice covered lake underneath. I hit the sand hard, rolling a bit before coming to a stop. The impact knocks the wind out of me, aggravating the bruise on my stomach again. It was still tender, and now it was pulsing. I had sand in every crack and crevice, but I had been smart enough to close my eyes.

I catch my breath before sitting up, finding I landed a few feet away from my dad. He was surrounded by a circle of debris, buried halfway in the sand. I stumble over to him, my feet sinking in the sand. I fall to my knees next to him, helping him get out of the mess of broken metal and wires. He's beat up and covered in bloody scratches, but I know I don't look any better. We fall side by side in the sand, looking up at the sky. I don't know why, but we both start laughing hysterically, cracking up as we lay there in the sand, having just escaped a terrorist organization who had held us captive by using a metal suit made out of scrap parts. Maybe we really had lost it, both of us laughing until we're out of breath.

"We made it." My dad finally says, looking over at me. "I told you we'd make it."

I smile a little at him. "Well, we're free of the terrorists. Any idea where we are and how close we are to civilization?"

My dad sits up, looking around. "That's our next challenge."

The sun was scorching us as we made our way through the desert. I knew I was never going to look at sand the same way after this. We were both hot, tired and injured. My dad had wrapped my jacket around my head to keep it cool, doing the same with his shirt. We were wandering blindly in the desert, no idea where we were going, or where we even were. There was no promise we'd be safe even if we found civilization either. I knew I could blend in with the locals, but my dad would stick out like a sore thumb. It didn't help that neither of us spoke Arabic either.

My legs are tired, both of us leaning on each other equally. I don't know how much further we were going to make it. The only hope we had was that someone had noticed the explosion, or had seen us flying. And we had to hope that whoever does find us is friendly. I don't know how much more unfriendliness I can take.

After what feels like hours, the sun starting to get low on the horizon, our answer finally comes. Two helicopters fly overhead, circling around us before landing. My dad and I rush forward with a new surge of energy, waving down the helicopters. I had never felt so relieved in my life. My legs finally give out, both my dad and I falling to our knees in the sand. I breathe a sigh of relief, seeing five figures running towards us. I recognize one of them as Uncle Rhodey, tears starting to fall down my face.

Rhodey kneels down in front of us, pulling my dad and I into a hug. The feeling of relief keeps washing over me, tears and snot dripping down my face and onto Rhodey's uniform. I'm sure he appreciated that.

My dad and Rhodey help me get back to my feet, both of them supporting me as we make our way to the helicopter and to safety.


	7. Safe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zinny and Tony are finally safe and get to return home.
> 
> Minor edits done to the original version.

I had never been so happy to see a disposable razor in my life.

After we had gotten back to Bagram Air Force Base, we were immediately transferred to a plane and taken to Germany to get medical assistance. The doctors had been very thorough, checking every single inch head to toe. All of my cuts were sterilized, my bruises checked out. They did a very thorough exam. I was malnourished and severely dehydrated, but expected to make a full recovery. They leave me hooked up to an IV to get fluids in me, allowing me to eat some soup, which I was quite frankly tired of, but at least this wasn't grey mystery soup. It was bland chicken noodle, but it tasted like heaven in that moment.

After I was cleared by the doctors, I was taken to a private room by a female soldier. There was a fresh change of clothes and a shower, both a welcome sight. I quickly strip out of my dirty, torn up clothes hopping into the warm shower. I finally let loose, the tears falling as I stare at the disposable razor, the generic soap and hotel sized shampoo and conditioner. I couldn't control it. I had lived in a cave for three months, terrified that I would never get out, that I would die there at the young age of 18.

But we were safe now. By some miracle my dad and I had survived and gotten away from the terrorists. Yinsen had given his life so that we could make it. The man that had saved both my life and my dad's had given his so we could continue on, have a second chance. I slide down onto the floor of the shower, my sobs echoing but I don't care. I finally let it all out. The fear, the terror, the anger, the sadness. I allow myself to be weak and vulnerable for the first time in a long time.

I'm not sure how long I'm in that shower, just sitting there on the floor. The water has long gone clear, washing away the blood and the dirt. It was the first time I had been clean in months. According to Uncle Rhodey we had been missing for three months. We had been in that cave for three months. It felt like a lifeage ago, but it had only been yesterday that we had escaped.

Finally I get myself back on my feet, washing myself with the soap and shampoo, using the whole bottle, even though it's not enough. I knew it was going to take a few showers before I felt clean again. The female soldier comes back, asking me if I'm alright. I shut the water off, telling her I'm fine. I get dressed, not bothering with a comb knowing I don't have that kind of time to get through the knot that my hair currently was. I use my fingers to try and get some of the tangles up before pulling it up into a messy bun. The soldier's waiting for me, a small smile on her lips.

"You look better."

I try to smile, but I'm sure it looks more like a grimace. "Thank you. It feels weird, being clean." It's silent between us for a moment. "Can I see my dad now?"

She gives me a sympathetic look. "We need you to go through a couple debriefings before you can see your father."

I groan. "I don't know anything."

"They just have a few questions, that's all. It'll be over before you know it."

It was not over before I knew it. All I wanted to do was see my dad, but I was stuck in a room with person after person asking me who was behind the kidnapping, how much they knew, what they wanted, and if I told them anything. I tell them everything I can. The Ten Rings, I don't know, the Jericho missile and nothing. It was getting old. I was starving and I wanted to leave.

Finally the debriefings are over with, the female soldier leading me back to my private room, my dad waiting there for me. I nearly fall into his arms, relieved at seeing him again. He holds me, burying his face in my hair as I breathe him in. We're left alone, given some peace finally. I hate it, but I cry against my dad's shoulder, letting everything out. We had come so close to dying so many times and yet, here we were, safe finally. None of it felt real. I felt like pinching myself to make sure I wasn't hallucinating.

"We're safe. We're here." My dad says it over and over like he's trying to convince himself.

We both finally calm down, my dad refusing to let me go, even when Rhodey comes by with food. He sits and eats with us, listening to our full story about what happened. He was only one of two people who ever hears the full story about what really happened. The other one you'll meet later on, but for now, we'll stick to the present.

It was a two days before they declared us free to go, sending us on an Air Force plane back to the states. Everything is so unrealistic to me still, and I knew it was going to be that way for a while. My dad doesn't look any different, but I knew as soon as we landed in the states he was going to go back to his normal self. The carefree, nonchalant billionaire playboy.

They had insisted on making my dad and I sit in wheelchairs, which was ridiculous because we were obviously physically fine. Well, my dad had dislocated his shoulder in the fall from the sky, but he insisted it was fine after they reset it. The doctors forced him to wear the sling, which I knew was going to come off as soon as we got home.

Home. That was a strange word. While in the cave, I had often thought about what I considered home. The mansion in Malibu where I'd spent a majority of my life. It was the only place I considered home despite having travelled all over the world, and stayed in my father's many other houses on multiple occasions. I hadn't been born there, in fact my mother had never even lived there. I knew that about her. They had been living somewhere else before my mother died. I had been too young to remember any other place. All of my earliest memories take place in the mansion. I always figured I would live there for a majority of my life. I was perfectly capable of moving out, finding my own place, doing my own thing, but I knew my dad needed me. Sure, he had Pepper and Happy, and could find some party to crash so he wouldn't be lonely for the night, but the thought of leaving him made me sad. Especially now after what happened. I had to make sure he was okay. I was the only one who knew what happened aside from Uncle Rhodey. He needed me now.

The hatch of the plane opens soon after we land, Rhodey waiting with us to help us down the ramp if needed. My dad had already decided he was feeling good enough to walk, but he refused to let me do the same. Something about taking it easy. I'm not really sure. I wasn't listening.

My dad decided he was going to be the one to push me down the ramp, Uncle Rhodey there to steady him in case he needed it, which he didn't. He was being stubborn again. The sun is blindingly bright as we make our way out of the plane, flashing me back to the first time I had been outside of the cave after our kidnapping.

I close my eyes, trying to steady my breathing, reaching back for my dad's hand. "Dad…"

He stops for a moment, squeezing my hand. "It's okay. I've got you."

I force down the panic as my dad waves off the medical crew waiting for us. We were back in our home turf, where there were people who actually cared about how we presented ourselves. I had to be strong again. But could I be strong again?

Pepper smiles as we near her, and I climb out of the wheelchair, my legs shaking from having been sitting for a long time. I wrap my arms around her tightly, hugging her for a while. She holds me close, and I can feel her trying to keep the tears at bay as well. I had missed Pepper. She was the only steady female presence in my life. And after having been surrounded by men for three months, I was more than happy to see her.

I finally pull away and she wipes at her eyes, looking me over. She doesn't say anything but I know what she's thinking. I look like shit. My face was still bruised and cut up, I was too thin and I looked like I'd been in a cave for three months. Thankfully the clothes that had been provided for me covered the worst of the marks. The handprints bruised into my arms, the nasty bruise on my stomach, the cuts on my legs. But no one could see the real damage that had been done. It wasn't something that my body could heal on its own. It would take a long time to heal. If I ever fully healed from it.

I sink back into the wheelchair as my dad and Pepper share a few words. They were already back to their normal teasing. My dad wheels me over to the Rolls, Happy opening the door for him and he helps me in before following. Pepper gets in on the other side, Happy getting in the driver's seat.

"Where to, Sir?" Happy asks.

"Take us to the hospital, please, Happy." Pepper says, but is interrupted by my dad.

"No."

"No? Tony, you have to go to the hospital." Pepper says, giving him a look.

"No is a complete answer."

"The doctor has to look at you."

"I don't have to do anything. I've been in captivity for three months. There are two things I want to do. I want an American cheeseburger, and the other..."

"That's enough of that." Pepper interrupts.

"...is not what you think. I want you to call for a press conference now."

"What?" I sit up straighter, frowning at him. "Why?"

"Call for a press conference?" Pepper asks.

"Yeah."

"What on earth for?"

"Hogan, drive. Cheeseburger first."

I was glad to get away from the base. I had seen enough military bases to last me the rest of my life. All I really wanted to do was go home, but I had to do this with my dad. The press needed to see that I was alive and in one piece like my dad. If they didn't...well, I could only imagine the stories they'd come up with.

I couldn't argue with my dad's need for cheeseburgers though. I think I ate my weight in cheeseburgers on the way to Stark Industries. I had never tasted anything so good in my life. Was I probably going to get sick later? Most likely. But it was worth it.

My stomach drops as I see the amount of people waiting at Stark Industries. It seems like every employee was waiting for us, clapping as the Rolls pulls up in front of the conference center. Was I ready to face that many people? No. Did I have a choice? No. Even better, my least favorite person was waiting for us, opening the car door for my dad as soon as Happy stops driving.

I never liked Obadiah Stane. There was something about him that made my stomach turn into a pretzel whenever he was near. Something about him made me uneasy. He was too confident, cared too much about my dad's wellbeing and the company, and always looked at me like he was looking right through me. Either that, or he was picturing what I would look like without my clothes. It could have been both for all I knew.

But he was the last person who I wanted to see right now, and he was the first person to greet us, pulling my dad out of the car and into a hug. Thankfully he doesn't try to hug me as my dad helps me out of the car, giving me a reassuring look.

I stay behind them as we make our way inside, my dad finishing off his last cheeseburger. Cameras flash in our face, and I try to keep my expression as neutral as possible. My dad wraps his arm around me, half to keep my legs steady and half for the press as we make our way through the crowd, my dad greeting people as he goes. I stand to the side of the podium, Obie greeting everyone, ready to start the talk, but my dad is way ahead of him, taking a seat on the floor.

"Hey, would it be all right if everyone sat down? Why don't you just sit down? That way you can see me, and I can... A little less formal and…" He takes a bite of his cheeseburger, motioning me over and I take a seat beside him as everyone else sits down. "I never got to say goodbye to dad." He says, talking to Obie. "I never got to say goodbye to my father. There's questions that I would have asked him. I would have asked him how he felt about what this company did. lf he was conflicted, if he ever had doubts. Or maybe he was every inch the man we all remember from the newsreels... I saw young Americans killed by the very weapons I created to defend them and protect them. And I saw that I had become part of a system that is comfortable with zero accountability."

"Mr. Stark?" One of the reporters in front raises his hand.

"Hey, Ben." My dad greets him.

"What happened over there?"

"I had my eyes opened." My dad stands up, moving behind the podium. "I came to realise that I have more to offer this world than just making things that blow up. And that is why, effective immediately, I am shutting down the weapons manufacturing division until such a time as I can decide what the future of the company will be. What direction it should take, one that I'm comfortable with and is consistent with the highest good for this country, as well."

The reporters are on their feet before the words are even completely out of my dad's mouth. I'm still sitting on the floor in shock, but it's not so much shock at what he's doing. After what we had been through, after what we had seen, I could understand his reasoning. We had been taken captive, held in a cave for three months for the sole purpose of building one of the most destructive weapons outside of the nuclear bomb. It was more the shock that he had made the announcement so soon. I was expecting him to at least take a little time to adjust, time to think. But since when did my dad stop and think about something before doing it? He was notorious for his impulsive decisions. But this had to be the most life changing out of all of them.


	8. Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zinny cracks.
> 
> Updated from the original version.

I knew things would change. I knew it was going to be a long time before I felt okay again. I thought I would at least feel safe at home. That being back would give me a sense of security. I knew this mansion better than anyone aside from my dad. There were things I knew about it that Pepper didn't even know. I had always been comfortable in the empty spaces, the large rooms, the minimalistic style that my dad employed in every space except his garage. But coming back to it made me feel vulnerable. It was too big, too open. I hate feeling vulnerable.

My dad had stayed at Stark Industries, having Happy take me home while he talked to Obie. Pepper had come with me, making sure I was okay. I was greeted by the few staff that my dad kept. A chef and two maids who came in every other day to clean. The mansion was impeccably clean, meaning they had continued to work while we were gone.

The chef offered to cook me something, but I declined, still full from Burger King. The maids went back to doing their jobs, finishing up cleaning the downstairs area. I assured Pepper I was alright, and she left me alone, going to get started on the heavy job of trying to calm the storm after my dad's announcement. I knew it was going to cause an uprising, but better that than them focusing on how awful we looked.

I slowly make my way to my room, passing by the expensive artwork that my dad insisted on having. I had passed them hundreds of times, but now they just brought up painful memories. It takes me a moment to open my door, my hand freezing inches from the handle. I hadn't been in my room in three months. I had left on what was supposed to be a two day trip at the most, only to disappear for three months. I felt sick, thinking about how easy life had been before. It wasn't just my dad that had been carefree and nonchalant about things. I had also been carefree. I had never wanted for anything, never having to go hungry or go without anything. If I wanted something, my dad handed me his credit card. I had a separate room for toys when I was little because I couldn't fit all of them in my room. That room had become a library after I grew out of toys, hosting hundreds of books that I never could read all of in my lifetime. I had a closet stuffed full of designer clothes and shoes, enough jewelry worth enough to pay for five years of college at a private university. The mansion was filled with all of the newest Stark tech, computers, laptops, tablets. I go through cell phones like people go through rolls of toilet paper.

All if that had seemed normal to before. I had never known anything different and I had been blind enough to believe that it was normal. But I had spent three months in a cave in ratty clothes that were too big, being beat up, threatened and nearly killed, living off of grey mystery soup which only served to ease the ache of hunger and nothing more. Now, looking at this too big house, filled with expensive stuff that normal people only ever dreamed of having, it felt wrong.

I had opportunities that a lot of people like me only dreamed about. I never had to worry about when my next meal would be, if we had enough clean water to drink, wash our clothes with and bathe with. I never had to do chores or work to help support my family. I didn't have siblings I had to take care of while trying to keep a roof over my head. I didn't have to fear for my life every time I stepped out my door, got in my car and went to the store. All the times I'd faced discrimination for the way I looked my dad was there to throw it back in their faces and ruin their lives. It never affected me negatively. My life was painfully easy and it wasn't fair.

I finally get the courage to open my door, the sun lighting up my room. It looked just like I left it. The bed was made, and hadn't been touched in three months. My tablet was still on my nightstand, my dresser lined with photos of my dad and I on vacations, magazine articles, favorites from photoshoots. My closet doors are covered in pictures: terrible finger paintings from when I was little that I had insisted on keeping. The door to my private bathroom is propped open, the scent of my favorite air freshener coming through. Everything was clean, dusted and spotless. It all felt wrong.

I walk over to my dresser, picking up a picture. It's my dad and I at Coney Island. I was six, my face covered in ice cream, my unruly hair sticking up in all directions on my head making me look like I'd stuck my finger in an electrical socket. My dad is laughing, trying to wipe the ice cream off my cheeks. Our nanny at that time had taken it, wanting to catch the memory showing that we could be a normal family every once in a while. Looking at it made me sad. I had no idea back then what would happen to me. I longed for those days when I was young and carefree. When I didn't know about the world or the evils it held. The cruel words of jealousy and hatred going right over my head. I felt angry, resentful. I want to go back to those days. I want to forget what had happened. I wish….I wish I had a different family. I wish I had a normal family that didn't have to worry about getting kidnapped because their father doesn't make weapons for a living.

I feel the anger burn through me. Hot, angry tears roll down my cheeks as I look around. My room is too big. It's bigger than the average New York apartment. I hate the view of the Pacific, calm and blue, reflecting the sky. I look over at my vanity, thousands of dollars worth of jewelry just sitting there. I know there's some in there that I've never even worn before. There's clothes in my closet I've had since I was a teenager that I never even touched. Designer shoes that had never even been opened.

I wipe my tears but more keep coming, and I leave my room, heading down the hall to the supplies closet. I grab a roll of garbage bags, the big black ones, dropping the roll on my bed. I grab a bag, starting with my jewelry, dropping drawer after drawer into the bag. I keep a couple pieces, special ones. The necklace my dad had bought me for my tenth birthday. One of the few birthday's he remembered. And one heart shaped diamond on a rose gold chain that had belonged to my mother. My dad had given it to me for my sixteenth birthday. He wanted to give it to me before, but he never found the right time to do it. He had bought it for my mom after she found out she was pregnant. She had said she wanted me to have it before she died. It was one of the few things that were left of her. I shove it back in the drawer, emptying out the rest of them. I throw the bag out of my room, shattering something but I don't care.

I hit my bathroom next, dumping the hundreds and hundreds of dollars of expensive makeup and hair products, some of which I never touched. Most of the time my makeup and hair got done for me, and the few times I did it myself I didn't use all that much. Just enough to make me look less like a zombie. I catch my face in the mirror as I'm emptying out drawers. My face is red and blotchy, making the bruise and cut on my cheek stand out. Hot tears are still running down my face and I look terrible. But most startling of all, I can see the terror in my eyes. It wasn't anger in my face. That was burning in my chest. My eyes are wide, red surrounding the earthy brown of my irises.

People always told me I had my dad's eyes. And I did. Those big doe eyes that got me whatever I wanted from whoever I asked. I had heard more times than I cared to how beautiful my dad's eyes were. Deep chocolate brown that melted into your very soul. I didn't like to think of my eyes that way. I always preferred to look at the softness of my eyes. Like wet soil after a spring rain in the middle of a forest. The kind of soil that sprouts plants and brings green life into the world. I hated them now. I looked so much like my dad. I never used to mind that. I knew my dad was a good looking man. He wouldn't be half as popular if he wasn't. Sure, women would still go after his money if he wasn't, but being nice looking just made it easier. I had gotten his good genes, and I had been told on more than one occasion that I was beautiful. But I had never really taken the time to consider it. And now I hated it.

I pull my air freshener out of the wall, throwing it in the bag too before tossing it out my door into the hallway. I grab more bags, pulling the designer clothes and shoes out, throwing bag after bag into the hallway until there's a mountain outside my door. There's empty drawers stacked around my room, my closet nearly empty. I had pulled the sheets off my bed, the expensive cotton sheets that had a ridiculously high thread count. I wanted to throw my mattress too but it was too heavy. The stupid memory foam mattress that had cost more than some people pay for their car. My lamp had followed my sheets, as well as the few decorative pieces my dad had insisted I put in my room. Paintings and pieces of artwork worth more than some people paid for their houses.

My room is bare by the time I'm done. Nothing more than the necessities left. Basic clothes and a pair of tennis shoes. The handful of jewelry and the necessary toiletries. I grab a t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants from my dresser, going to my bathroom to change. I hadn't had time to actually look at my body since we were rescued. And looking at it made me wish I hadn't bothered.

My dad had said I was too thin and now I understood what he meant. I had bones sticking out in places they shouldn't have been. I had always considered myself to be healthy. I wasn't thin like society wanted me to be. I had curves and filled out my clothes more than some would like, but it had never bothered me. Seeing those stick thin women that always prowled around events made me feel sad for them. It wasn't healthy and they just looked sad. And right now that's what I looked like. I could almost see my ribs poking through my skin. The bruise on my stomach is turning green, the edges starting to fade. It's still tender, but it's healing. There's various bruises and cuts on my skin, the handprints still visible around my arms. I pull my clothes on, clothes that used to fit me perfectly but now are too big. I have to use the drawstring for once on my sweatpants, making sure they don't fall down.

I move back into my room, grabbing the picture off my dresser of my dad and I, sinking down on the floor. I know the thoughts I'm having are irrational, but I can't help it. Rage is building deep inside me, anger towards the man in the picture. This was all his fault. If it wasn't for him...deep down I know I shouldn't blame him. There's a rational part of my brain that's telling me I shouldn't be placing this all on him. But the irrational parts quickly drown out that one small piece. My hands are shaking as I hold the picture. I want to break it, throw it out the window, but I don't.

I set it down because I can hear my father coming up the steps. I can hear is confused voice calling my name, having spotted the mountain of garbage bags sitting outside my door. I can hear him, moving past them, stopping in my doorway.

"Zinny? What's going on? Are you moving out on me now?"

I know his tone is meant to be joking. He was always joking. He couldn't be serious for one goddamn second. I used to be relieved that he could still find humor in the worst situations. That he could make a joke while laying in the hospital getting stitches in his hand because of an accident in his garage. But right now I hate it. I hate him for it. I'd seen the serious side of him. I'd lived with it for three months and I didn't want any other part of him. I didn't want him at all.

He takes a step into my room, his tone turning from confusion to concern and I realize I've been glaring down at the picture. "Hey, Zinny, talk to me."

"Don't." My tone is cold, the rage still burning, making my chest hurt. I stand up, turning to face him. "Don't do it. Don't try to act all concerned for me."

A frown appears on his face. "What are you-"

"You don't really care. If you cared you wouldn't have gotten us in this situation in the first place! You and your stupid company and your stupid weapons almost got us killed!" I take a breath, tears spilling down my cheeks. "I wish I had died in that cave because I wouldn't have had to come back to this! This ridiculous, stupid mansion with it's stupid expensive art and designer clothes and technology! People die every day because of your weapons! People live with nothing while we sit here, wasting money on stuff we don't even need!" I take a couple of breaths. "It's all your fault. It's all your fault!"

"Zinny...I-" he tries to come near me but I take a step back, holding out the picture frame like it's a weapon.

"Don't. Don't you dare!" I'm sobbing now, screaming at him. "I hate you! I fucking hate you!"

I can see the hurt in his eyes but I don't care. I want him to hurt. I want to punish him for doing this to me. I had almost died because of him. I wanted him to hurt like me.

"Go away! I never want to see you again!"

"Zinnia-"

I throw the picture frame at him, and he flinches away from it, the glass shattering on the wall behind him. "Get out!" I scream it so loud my voice cracks.

I can see the tears in my dad's eyes as he looks at me. The hurt, the pain, the sadness. None of it matters in that moment as the rage finally starts to burn down. My dad does the smart thing for once and turns, leaving my room. I can hear him talking to Pepper on the way down the stairs, telling her to leave me alone. That I need some time.

I fall to my knees when I can no longer hear him, sobs wracking my body as I fold in on myself. What had I just done?


	9. Apologies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony thinks and apologies are made.
> 
> Updated from the original version.

3RD POV:

Tony wasn't going to say that his daughter's words didn't hurt, but he could understand where she was coming from. He'd spent a lot of money making her feel special, spoiling her, making sure she had everything she wanted and more. She was his daughter, a gift he never expected to get. When her mother had told him she was pregnant he had been upset at first. He wasn't ready to be a dad. He was barely out of college with his umpteenth degree, still living with his parents. But his parents had died just a month before Zinnia was born. Not long before Zinnia's mother died too.

Zinnia's mother had been the only woman Tony Stark had ever loved. His beautiful Rose, the woman he was convinced he was going to marry. They had met in a chemistry class at MIT. They had wound up being lab partners, Tony relentlessly hitting on the beautiful young woman who was stuck with him all semester. He'd had his share of college women by that time, most of them had been eager, willing, sold before he could even introduce himself. But Zinnia's mother hadn't been so easy. She had made Tony work for it, gotten to know him, turned down every advance Tony threw until after the semester was over. She finally agreed to a date, their "study sessions" actually being study sessions.

They got together over the summer, their relationship lasting a year before she got pregnant. Tony had been shocked when she broke the news to him. She had waited a month, trying to figure out how to tell him, gauge how he would react to the news. He had been upset at first. Angry that he had slipped up like that, thinking his life was ruined by this baby that was about to come into their lives. But they were three months from graduation, and Tony only felt himself falling more and more in love with her every day. The anger slipped away to excitement and anticipation. He was going to be a dad. His own parents had mixed reactions to the news. His mother had been elated, finally getting a grandchild. His father had seemed disappointed in him, but when was Howard ever not disappointed in Tony?

But tragedy had struck just a month before Zinnia was born. His parents had been killed in a car accident. He couldn't say the news didn't devastate him. It had. As much as he loved to hate them, they were his parents. The words "you never know what you have until it's gone" hadn't ever resonated with him until then. He started to lose himself in drinking after that. Zinnia's mother was the only person keeping him afloat. That, and the fact that she was due any day.

When Zinnia was born, Tony fell in love. She was tiny, purple and screaming at the top of her lungs. She looked like a wrinkled potato with thick dark hair on her head already, but she was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. That was his daughter. His little girl. His spawn, half of his DNA was in that tiny, screaming angel. Zinnia's mother had never looked more beautiful than she had in that hospital bed, holding their daughter. He had taken a picture of them, Zinnia wrapped in a pink blanket fast asleep, her mother looking dead tired but beautiful. Tony kept that picture with him still, stuck in a safe at the bottom of his closet. It was one of the few things he kept of her, a reminder of what he had. A reminder that time is precious.

It was the police who told him about her death. Zinnia's mother had gone to work as usual that morning, leaving Tony to care for Zinnia. She was often home late, sharing Tony's ability to lose track of time. But it was early the next morning when the police knocked on the door, Tony answering with a screaming baby in his arms. They had woken her from precious sleep. She was three months old, and still as vocal as ever. Tony had passed Zinnia off on one of the maids, a woman who had a daughter of her own and knew how to calm her down as he stood on the porch and talked with the police.

The news had driven him to his knees, the officers kindly moving him to the bench on the porch. She was dead. Killed in an accident at work. Being a chemist was a dangerous job, and mixing the wrong chemicals could be fatal. At the time, the news made sense. But the more he thought about it, the more he got suspicious. Rosie was a brilliant chemist, and the idea of her making a small mistake like that was mind boggling. He tried to dig, searching for anything that could lead to an answer. There were people who hated his relationship with her. It was the 90's and yet still people got their panties in a twist over interracial relationships. Tony had told the haters off, threatening to ruin their lives if they had any bad words for his Rosie. But no answers had ever come up in his search. He had searched a thousand times over, pouring over police reports, reports from the lab, anything he could find, any sign that it could have been deliberate, but nothing ever popped out at him. He found it was easier to drown himself in alcohol than to think about it. He'd lost his parents, and then the woman he loved.

And now he had almost lost his daughter. He wasn't upset at her for yelling at him, blaming him for everything. It was partially his fault. Partially why he had shut down weapons manufacturing at Stark Industries. He didn't want to put his daughter in more danger. There had been some close calls in her life. Idiots with guns in shopping malls wanting to make statements. He had sent her to a private school one year for girls with parents in high places. That same year an anarchist group had held the school hostage, but had ultimately failed. After that he swore to have her homeschooled and kept close so nothing like that happened again. But she had never been directly involved like she had been in Afghanistan.

She'd been shaken up by some instances before, but never anything like this. He knew she was just trying to cope with being back. He knew everything was crashing down on her now, the reality of what had happened, why it had happened. He knew she would need some time. He had even opened a search for shrinks in the area, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. If she wanted that help, it would be up to her. He wasn't going to force her into something. Her mother had tried to force him to see a shrink after his parents died. That was one of the only fights they'd ever had. Zinnia's mother realized it wasn't going to do any good if he didn't want to get help, so she had dropped it. He felt guilty afterwards, after she had died. Maybe if he had gone...no. He didn't like to think about that. The "maybe's." It was too much. He just had to keep moving forward.

It was late at night when Zinnia finally came down to the garage. He had buried himself down there when he got home, trying to tinker to keep his mind clear. He had started working on a newer arc reactor for his chest, one that was lighter and would work better. Not that the one he had in wouldn't work, but he had built it in a cave with minimal supplies. He trusted the new one a little more.

If it wasn't for JARVIS he wouldn't have even known she was in the garage. He had been blasting music, one of her mother's favorite songs. It kept him focused, kept him from getting too lost in his own head, which had failed anyways. But when she arrived, JARVIS had turned down his music, catching his attention.

He was surprised to see her down there so soon. She looked terrible. She was thin, swimming in clothes that used to fit her. She was still covered in bruises, dark circles under her eyes. Her face was blotchy from crying, her eyes avoiding his. It tugged at his heart strings, seeing his little girl like that. So broken, torn apart by his mistakes.

He turns to face her, swallowing the lump in his throat. "Zinny…"

"I'm sorry, daddy. I-I don't….know why I yelled at you."

"You were upset. The reality of the situation finally hit you. I don't blame you for getting upset. You have every right to be upset."

"But it's not your fault." She finally looks up at him. "You didn't know those men were going to kidnap us. You didn't know they had your weapons. That wasn't right...placing the blame on you."

Tony holds out his hand. "C'mere."

She hesitantly moves forward, taking his hand. Tony carefully moves her so she's sitting on his knees like he would when she was little. "I'm not upset at you. I'm upset at myself for not protecting you like I should have. Those men should never have had my weapons in the first place. How they got them...I don't know. But I'm going to make sure nothing like that ever happens again."

"That's why you stopped weapons production. So that no one else could do what they did."

Tony nods. "Yes. I don't want any more destruction being caused in my name. No more lives being taken by people carrying my weapons, good or bad."

She nods. "Maybe you should have listened when I threw that tantrum a few years back."

Tony grins. "Maybe I should have. But I'm listening now. Nothing like that is ever going to happen again, okay? I'm going to keep you safe."

She nods, laying her head on his shoulder. "I believe you. I really am sorry."

"It's okay, princess. I don't blame you. I probably would have yelled at me too."

It's silent between them for a few minutes. Tony hadn't held his daughter like this since she was little. Not in a situation where they were both safe. Tony felt the safest in his garage, surrounded by his equipment and tools. That's where he could be himself, where he could work without thinking too much. He didn't want to think about what had happened yet. It was still too soon. He had other things he had to take care of. Other things he had to do before he would face the reality of what happened.


	10. Rebuilding the Suit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony and Zinny get to work on rebuilding the suit. Some precious father daughter bonding.
> 
> Minor edits from the original version.

I didn't remember falling asleep in the garage. I had gone down late last night to apologize for going off on my dad, and I had stayed with him after that. He was working on remaking the arc reactor in his chest, giving himself an upgrade. Apparently I had fallen asleep, the exhaustion of everything hitting me finally. My dad had thrown a blanket over me, tucking me in on the couch. He was still sitting at his workstation, bent over the arc reactor. He had changed his clothes though, wearing a t-shirt and a pair of pajama pants.

I make my way over to the table, and he turns to glance at me before looking back at the arc reactor.

"Did you sleep last night, dad?"

He doesn't answer for a moment. "A little. You were out like a light and, given the state of your room, I just left you down here."

I nod. "Thanks. I'll put it all back, I just…"

He turns to look at me. "Hey. It's alright. I get it. You won't hurt my feelings if you get rid of some of it."

"Really?"

"Yeah. We'll have one of those celebrity yard sales. Donate the money to charity."

I smile. "Thanks, daddy."

He kisses my head before standing up. "I need your help with something. I just need to see how big your hands are."

I frown. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Just let me see your hands." I hold them up and he looks them over. "You have tiny hands."

"Thanks, dad. That's great for my self esteem."

"In this case, that's a good thing."

He sets up one of his work chairs, programming the monitors behind him so that JARVIS can track his vitals. He gets himself set up, grabbing the new arc reactor off the table before motioning to me.

"I need your help." I come over to him as he sits back in the chair, pulling his shirt off. "There's an exposed wire under the reactor. It's making contact with the socket wall and causing a short." He pulls out the old reactor, handing it to me. "Put that over there and then come help me lift the wire out."

I set the old reactor on the table, turning back to him and the giant hole in his chest. I wasn't excited about doing this, but I had watched Yinsen do it. So I figured I could do it.

"There's a copper wire inside. Just be gentle. Treat it like Operation."

"I suck at Operation."

He gives me a look which I ignore, slowly sticking my hand in the socket. There's warm goop inside, making me wince. "I don't even want to know what that is."

"It's an inorganic plasmic discharge from the device."

"I just said I don't want to know." I dig around a little in there, finding the wire.

I may have accidentally let it touch the socket wall, jolting him a little. I'm a little distracted from my satisfaction and accidentally pull the wire out all the way, the monitors starting to beep.

"Dad…"

"It's okay, it's okay, just put it on the table."

I nervously put it on the table. "What did I do?"

"It's okay. I just wasn't expecting it. But we gotta get the other one in."

I nod, taking the new arc reactor, attaching the cords at the bottom to the baseplate like he says. He pushes the reactor the rest of the way in, shaking off whatever I had done to him.

"See? It's okay. I'm okay. You're okay."

I look down. "I messed up. I could have done something worse."

He cups my chin, lifting my face. "Hey, it's alright. We all make mistakes. But I'm in one piece." He looks down at his chest. "Figuratively." He gets up out of his chair, wiping his chest off with the towel before tossing it to me.

"Dad?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't ask me to do something like that again."

He gives me a serious look. "But you're all I have. Besides Pepper and you know she'd never be able to handle that."

I can't help but crack a smile. "That's true. What do you want me to do with this?" I hold up the old reactor.

"Destroy it. Get rid of it."

I frown. "You don't want to keep it?"

"I have been called many things, but nostalgic is not one of them."

I frown, turning the reactor in my hands as my dad goes back to cleaning up his lab. "I'm gonna go clean up my room now."

I head up the stairs, keeping the reactor in my hand, a plan forming in my head for it.

As the months go by, my dad and I get back into the swing of things. We have the yard sale, getting rid of a lot of my stuff that I never used: jewelry, clothes, shoes. I donate all of the money to charity, making the news for a day. People started talking again, saying I was doing better than my dad was. If only they knew.

My dad works on remodeling his garage. Changing things up, he said. But I knew he was planning something. Burying himself in his garage wasn't anything unusual for him, but now I knew things had changed and I was curious as to what he was doing. So naturally, I went to check it out.

Of course I had the worst timing possible.

My dad was standing in his new testing area, hooked up to something. I could see he had his bots close by, Dummy with the extinguisher attachment on his head. I quickly type in my password, just in time so see my dad fly backwards, hitting the wall behind him before falling to the ground. Dummy blasts him with the fire extinguisher, even though he's not on fire.

"Dad!" I rush over, trying to clear the air around him. "What the hell are you doing?"

He looks up at me, wincing. "You saw that?"

"Uh, yeah! I did!" I look down at the contraption on his bottom half. "You're rebuilding it?"

He winces as I help him stand up, adjusting a few wires. "More like improving it."

I look down, studying the boots. "Can I help?"

I can tell it takes him by surprise. I had never really offered to help him on a project before. At least not this monumental. Sure, we had rebuilt a couple of car engines and he had shown me around Stark Industries, but he had never really gotten me involved in his tinkering before. I knew a little, a lot of it I learned in the cave, but I felt like I needed to help him with this.

He regards me for a few moments, before nodding. "Sure."

My face lights up. "Really?"

"Yeah. Maybe it'll be good for you. I can teach you everything I know."

"But that's a lot of stuff."

"Well then I hope you're a fast learner."

My dad walks me through what he's done already, stopping to explain to me stuff that I don't understand. He's patient with me, helping me along. It's nice, spending time with him like this. I don't get to see him work often and he's so focused it's amazing. It's like the two sides to my dad. The partying playboy and the focused engineer and they somehow lived together in one person. But ever since our time in the cave, I noticed the focused engineer was starting to come out more. Maybe things really were changing for the better.

The days start to blur together, and I realize now how my dad could work for hours without realizing it. I had started to do the same with him, helping him finish the adjustments on the lower portion of the suit before starting on the upper portions. I, often times, would take breaks to get packages of parts that would arrive, sometimes multiple times a day. My dad really was serious about rebuilding the suit, making it better. He wouldn't tell me what for, but I had a feeling I knew already.

A few days later we finish the first attempt at the flight stabilizer. I got it all hooked to my dad, making sure the wires were in the right place before Pepper comes in, surprising us both.

"I've been buzzing you. Did you hear the intercom?"

Neither of us had. "Yeah, everything's...what?"

"Obadiah's upstairs." I hold in a groan.

"Great. I'll be right up." My dad says, not even paying attention.

My dad gets the arm piece up, getting ready to test fire it, handing me the button.

"I thought you said you were done making weapons." Pepper says, watching my dad too.

"This is a flight stabilizer. It's completely harmless. Zinny, any time now."

I hit the button, the stabilizer firing up before throwing him backwards, shooting a few items off of the table. I duck down to avoid getting hit, peeking out from under the table. "It worked!"

"Yeah, too well."

I hurry over, helping my dad up, my dad sending Pepper to tell Obie that he'd be right up. I didn't want to see Obie anymore than I had to. I help my dad get untangled from the wires, making sure he's okay before he goes upstairs. I elect to stay downstairs, tinkering with the project I had been working on. It was almost done, just missing the glass case.

My dad comes back down, looking like something's bothering him. I don't push it, knowing it more than likely has something to do with the company with Obie being involved. We continue to work on the suit, my dad working with a new drive behind him.

Another month goes by and we start on the outer casing of the suit, shaping and welding the metal to fit. It's a long process, but it gives us both time to think. My dad works on figuring out how to fly with the suit, nearly taking out a few cars in the process, before finally getting it down. Finally we're almost finished with the suit, my dad waiting for the perfect time to take it for a test ride. He had set up a comm system inside, allowing him to keep contact with JARVIS, and so he could link everything back to me.

I was happy he trusted me enough to be his pit crew. I was slightly nervous, hoping I could do everything right and not mess up again, and keep him from flying into something or crashing and burning. I didn't want to be the cause of my dad getting hurt, and it was a lot of pressure, most if it being put on me by myself. But I was excited too, being able to share this with my dad.

I sit at what he calls his control station, getting everything booted up, testing everything with JARVIS' help.

"Is everything good on your end?" My dad's voice sounds strange coming through the suit.

"Ready and uploaded." I say into the comm.

"Great. Have JARVIS start listening on ground control and do a weather and ATC check."

I run the programs, JARVIS hacking in to ground control, giving me a feed. "Weather's clear. No air traffic currently coming in either. You're clear to fly."

"Ready? In three, two, one."

The thrusters at the base of the suit start up, lifting him off the ground before he goes flying through the garage door, shooting out of the mansion. I watch the flight specs, keeping an eye on air traffic, listening on the comms.

"Can you still read me?" His voice crackles through the comm.

"Loud and clear, daddyo! How's she doing?"

"Handles like a dream."

I watch the suit specs, power levels and any interference that could come through. So far everything looked fine. That was, until my dad got the idea to test the altitude levels. He decided to push as high as he could, despite me warning him that his signal was coming in and out. And then everything went dark.

"Dad? Dad do you read me?" I check the comm link, but it's on, on my end. "JARVIS?"

"It appears we have lost contact." JARVIS' words don't make me feel any better.

"Come on, dad." I try to figure out a way to get his suit back online, trying to get remote access from his last GPS log.

Finally everything comes back online, and I get a reading on his suit again.

"Dad?"

"You're loud and clear Zinnia!"

I breathe a sigh of relief. "Thank god. Don't ever do that to me again!"

"Sorry, Zinny. I'm alright. Heading back to you."

"See you soon, Dad. You're clear for air traffic."

I wait patiently, my present for him waiting beside me. I had finished it a couple days ago but hadn't worked up the courage to give it to him. I figured celebrating his first flight would be a good time. That is, until he comes crashing through the roof, breaking the piano in half and completely crushing one of his cars. Thankfully Dummy was there to put out the nonexistent fire.


	11. Things Change

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zinny attends her first public event after the kidnapping. Tony flies to Afghanistan to destroy some terrorists.
> 
> Minor edits from the original version.

I hadn't planned on going to the benefit that night. It had been Pepper's idea. She was going and she thought it would be good for me to get out of the house after months and show my face again. It was the third annual Fire-Fighter's Family Fund benefit, another event for rich people to get together and discuss world domination plans while helping the community. I didn't really want to go, but Pepper didn't want to be alone. So, I pulled on a nice dress, did my hair before leaving JARVIS with a note for my dad to tell him I'd be leaving. He was working on redoing the suit using titanium alloy to get rid of the icing problem, and make the suit better as far as wear and tear goes.

I leave him to his tinkering, catching a ride with Pepper to the benefit, already wanting to go home once I see the flashing cameras. I hadn't been in a serious crowd since before the kidnapping, and the thought of dealing with paparazzi and then the crowd inside made me slightly nauseous. I was determined not to puke on anyone, wishing I was old enough to drink. Perhaps some alcohol could have steeled my nerves. Or it could have made it worse. Perhaps sparkling water was the best idea.

Pepper and I make it through the press unscathed, and I'm glad all of my bruises have faded. Even the one on my stomach was nothing more than a memory now, all the pain gone. I had filled out over the months since we were brought home, thankful to have some curves again. It made picking out clothes easier. I didn't have to worry about swimming in everything I tried on.

Thankfully the ballroom isn't too packed, and I make my way to the nearly empty bar. I order a sparkling water, looking out on the crowd. Most of the faces I don't recognize, some of them probably due to plastic surgery, others because there were always new floaters, new names making themselves known in the world of the upper elite, trying to get somewhere. Unfortunately, I was usually their first target. Get in with Stark's Princess and you're golden. Too bad Stark's Princess is incredibly picky.

I greet a few people who I don't know who come to the bar, offering polite smiles despite the fact that I'm being eaten alive inside with nerves. I hardly notice someone standing next to me until he speaks.

"Miss Stark?"

I turn to look at him. He's older, dressed nicely with a kind face. Not the type you'd normally see at a benefit. "Yes?"

"I'm Agent Coulson with the Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division."

"You should get an acronym for that. Quite the mouthful."

He smiles. "We're working on it. Will your father be here tonight?"

I shrug, taking a sip of my water. "I doubt it. But with him you never know. He may surprise us."

Agent Coulson nods. "I know this may be a trying time for both of you, but we need to debrief you both. There's still some unanswered questions and time can be a factor with these things."

I internally groan. Another debriefing. But at least Agent Coulson seemed nice. And he was asking nicely. "Our schedules are pretty open right now. Granted, getting my dad to come will be a hassle. I can always trick him into thinking we're going to the park or something."

Agent Coulson smiles a little. ''How about the 24th at 7:00PM at Stark Industries?"

I nod. "Sounds good. I'll make sure we're there."

"Thank you, Miss Stark."

Agent Coulson turns, disappearing into the crowd. The last thing I wanted to do was go to a debriefing, but at least they had been nice about this one. They had sent a nice man in a suit instead of surrounding the mansion and dragging us out blindfolded. And he had said we could do it at SI, meaning it was going to be less formal than the others. But I didn't know how much I could tell them. I had my own unanswered questions.

I mentally groan when I hear a familiar voice start to make its way through the crowd. My least favorite person was making his way through the many guests, making a conspicuous line right towards me. I looked for a way out, anyone I could talk to, but he beats me to it.

"Zinnia! It's good to see you out and about!"

I turn towards Stane, giving him the best fake smile I can. "Mr. Stane! It's been a long time!"

He smiles, making my stomach churn. "It sure has." He holds out his hand. "Come, dance with me. We can get caught up."

The last thing I wanted to do was dance with him, but he was already pulling me onto the dancefloor before I could give him an answer. Suddenly I was regretting wearing the dress with the cutouts in the back. His hand is clammy as it touches my bare back, making my skin crawl. He pulls me too close, but at least he knows how to dance.

"I'm proud of you, coming out here tonight."

I smile a little. "Thank you. I figured it would be good to get out and show my face again."

"I wish your dad thought the same way. But it's probably for the better. Keeping a low profile while everything simmers down. What has he been up to these days?"

"Oh, you know, just tinkering away in his garage. His usual routine."

I can tell he doesn't believe me, but thankfully he doesn't push it. "It must have been hard, being in that cave for three months."

I wish he had kept asking me about what my dad is doing. "Yes, uh, it was quite the terrifying experience. I'm glad we're safe now."

"As am I! The thought of losing both you and Tony together...it was a hard three months."

I can see through his facade like it's a glass wall. But I play dumb as usual, smiling. "Well, you don't have to worry about that anymore."

He gives me a wicked grin, one I'm sure I'm not supposed to read into. "No, I don't."

It falls silent between us, and I desperately search for something to talk about, something to make small talk about. People were pressing in closer as the dance floor fills up, my panic quickly drowning out the music. The last time I had been this close to a group of people was when the men were throwing me around, getting their joy from beating me up. I could still hear them, jeering at me, laughing as they watched me. Panic starts to build up and I quickly look for an exit, seeing a set of doors leading out to a balcony.

"Excuse me." I quickly slip from Obie's grip, making my way through the people, Pepper trying to get my attention but I don't stop, heading out into the cool night air.

I take deep breaths, looking down at the road as I try to quell the panic. My hands are shaking, sweat starting to drip down my back. I try to hold the tears in, already knowing coming to the benefit was a mistake. I wasn't ready to be in a crowd again. I wasn't ready to be back as a part of society, doing my duty of showing my face to the millions of people who would only jeer and call me names. Pointing out everything that they don't like. My weight, my skin, my clothes, the way I wear my hair. My lipstick isn't the right shade, it's too bold, not bold enough. None of that had ever bothered me until now, when instead of their normal petty complaints, it was the men who had managed to tear me apart by shoving me around a few times and laughing at me. It shouldn't have bothered me as much as it did. I shouldn't have still been hearing them, calling me things I couldn't even understand. How far they could have gone if I hadn't disgusted them by vomiting everywhere. Things could have been worse, but I was relieved that they didn't.

I hadn't noticed the person approaching me until a drink appears in my line of sight. I turn in surprise, soft chocolate brown eyes meeting my matching pair. I nearly knock my dad over as I hug him, trying not to smear mascara all over my face and his white shirt.

"Daddy…"

He sets the drink down on the balcony, pulling me close. "I'm here, little flower. Daddy's got you."

He hadn't called me little flower since I was young. After the last time the state tried to take me away, when I was eight. On the ride home he had called me little flower, reassuring me that I wasn't going anywhere. That he wouldn't let them take me away, and they hadn't. My dad had made sure that I wasn't going anywhere.

I hold on to my dad for a minute, breathing him in, the cologne that I love fresh on his shirt. I shake off the fear, relaxing, feeling safe in his arms. We had been through so much together. I feel safest near him, knowing he won't let anything hurt me. Not even his own creepy business partner.

I finally pull away from my dad, wiping the tears from my cheeks. "Thanks, daddy."

He smiles. "I didn't expect you to be here. I'm proud of you. But you know you don't have to be brave if you don't want to be."

"But I'm a Stark. Starks are supposed to be brave."

He smiles. "We are, but we're allowed to break down too. But, do try not to do it in front of the press."

I smile. "That's the last place I'd ever want to break down. I don't need that kind of rep."

My dad smiles. "Think you're gonna be okay?"

I nod, grabbing the sparkling water my dad had gotten for me. "Yeah. I might leave soon. I think it was a bad idea, coming here."

He nods. "Call Happy if you want to leave. He'll gladly take you home."

"I will. Now go save Pepper. I'm sure she'd be grateful for that."

I do wind up going home early, slipping away and meeting Happy a block down the street. He drives me back home, dropping me off before heading back for Pepper, and I go inside. I go straight to my bed, kicking off my heels once I'm in the door, gladly getting rid of those infernal devices. Whoever made high heels popular deserved to be tortured by wearing them all day every day for the rest of their life. I take a quick shower, my skin still crawling from being so close to Obie.

The next day I wake up late, having slept fitfully through the night. I was plagued by nightmares of what had happened, and things that could have happened. I spend the day doing some research, my dad down in the garage as usual.

Around lunchtime I grab some food, heading down to the garage to bring food to my dad, but when I get there he's gone, the glass doors shattered all over the floor. All of the cars are still there, so I check for the suit, finding it gone. I sit down at the command center, starting it up, grabbing the comm. JARVIS boots everything up, running ATC and ground control scans as usual, and I wait to get specs on the suit. I had never tried without the suit being here to calibrate before, and I wasn't sure it would work.

I finally get patched in to his comm, sighing in relief. "Dad? Where are you?"

He sounds out of breath, something happening in the background. "Zinny...now's not a good time. I'm busy."

"Dad...are those gunshots? Where are you?" I finally get patched into his suit, my stomach dropping when I get a location. "Why are you in Afghanistan?"

"I'm taking care of some business."

I hear a loud explosion in the background, the sound cutting out for a moment. "Dad.."

"Don't worry. I'm on my way back."

I take a deep breath, scanning through the suit specs, seeing minor damage to the outside shell. "What the hell were you thinking, dad? I thought you weren't making anymore weapons."

"I just saved a lot of people, Zinny."

"Dad...please don't turn yourself into a superhero."

"I'm not a superhero. I'm just trying to help fill in when our military refuses to act."

I read over the ground control reports, my stomach dropping. "Dad...I think you're pretty close to meeting the military."

"What?"

"They've got eyes on you."

It's silent for a moment on his end. "Hold on. Rhodey's calling."

I listen in to their conversation, spotting two jets in radar of my dad. "Dad, they're behind you."

I lose contact with his comm as they begin firing at him, helplessly watching his suit specs and radar as he tries to avoid getting blown out of the sky.

Thankfully he doesn't, returning to the mansion, flying in the garage door this time instead of going through the roof again. The only problem this time around, was that he was stuck in his armor. Apparently, getting blasted out of the sky by a tank will bend some metal gears. Something else that had to be modified. That's what he gets for running before walking. The other problem this time around, was Pepper's unexpected visit. Not how my dad wanted her to find out at all.


	12. Kidnapped Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zinny and Tony have a heart to heart before she's kidnapped...again.
> 
> Minor edits from the updated version.

Pepper took things surprisingly well. Her unwavering dedication to my dad helped. I wasn't there for the whole spiel, knowing they would want to do that privately. I had my own words to share with my dad, going off to Afghanistan to fight people without telling me. It made me angry, the worry blending into anger at his decision to run off like that. More irrational anger? You betcha.

There's a churning in my gut once again, the feeling that something bad is going to happen very soon. I thought it had simply been the terror from my dad flying to Afghanistan, but it was still there despite the terror having worn off. I head to my room, going to the bathroom, looking at myself in the mirror. I had gotten my color back, no longer paler than usual and sickly looking. My face had filled out again, thanks to many midnight trips to Burger King with my dad while working on the suit. The bruise where my face had been slammed into a cave wall was gone, nothing more than a memory now. There was still a mark on my cheek, a thin white line across my cheekbone from where I'd gotten backhanded after spitting in the creeper's face. I never found out what happened to him. I hoped my dad dropped a pile of rocks on him or something.

The longer that I stare at myself, the more my face changes to my eyes. I had read about the study that was done, that staring at your face for too long makes your brain change the way you see it. How it can make you see monsters. And I was staring at one. I could hear his voice still talking, calling me pretty, threatening to keep me for himself. The thoughts add to the anger already bubbling in my chest, my mind going on overdrive as I think about all of the horrible things that would have happened to me, what would have happened if my dad had built the missile, and if he hadn't built it. The anger at my dad for leaving like that, neglecting to tell me where he was going. Back to the place where it had all started.

The monster in the mirror smiles at me, his voice echoing in my head. Before I realize what I'm doing, my fist is through the mirror, the entire thing shattering into pieces, falling onto the counter and on the floor. The pain starts to register, small pieces of glass embedded into my knuckles, blood starting to trickle out of the larger wounds. I can hear my dad running, calling my name. JARVIS no doubt had alerted him to what had just happened.

He appears in the doorway, looking at me in shock. "Zinny...what happened?"

I look up from where I'd been staring at my hand, mesmerized by the blood, tears pooling in my eyes. "Daddy…"

He's by my side in an instant, leading me away from the mess of mirror shards, down to his garage. He helps me onto one of his work tables before grabbing the extensive first aid kit that was stored away for times like these. I watch him as he comes over, setting the first aid kit down, grabbing a pair of tweezers.

"Do you want to talk about what happened?"

He takes my hand in his, holding it so he can see while he pulls out pieces of glass. I watch him for a moment. He definitely had mechanic's hands, rough and calloused from working so long. But he could also be gentle, like right now. His touch was light, but firm enough to hold me still, gently pulling out the glass shards to keep from aggravating the wounds anymore. It always surprises me, how many layers there are to him, and not many people get to see them. My eyes look up to his face, watching him as he focuses, lines forming on his forehead as he furrows his brow in concentration.

"I'm sorry, daddy."

"What for?"

He finishes picking the glass out of my hand, grabbing some gauze to wrap my knuckles.

"I'm not okay. I try to be, but I'm not. I-I can't be okay. I'm not strong like you."

My dad finishes wrapping my knuckles, tossing the gauze on the table before pulling a stool over, sitting in front of me. He looks down at his hands, before looking up at me. I can't read the expression on his face, his emotions mixing together.

"Princess...no one expects you to be okay. We both went through some shit. The attack, the kidnapping, being held hostage. I don't even know the half of what you went through in the hands of those men. I may look like I'm okay, but that's just because I've had years of practice at making sure I always look fine." He takes a deep breath. "But on the inside I'm far from it. I'm angry that all of this happened because of me. I want to fix it. Flying to Afghanistan, destroying the weapons, freeing those people from the terrorists, that's just the start. I still get scared sometimes, thinking about what could have happened to you. How easily I could have lost you. I can't sleep because every time I close my eyes I'm back in that cave. I'm trying to make things right. But I still can't shake the feeling that this is all a dream."

I take his hand in mine, squeezing it lightly. "It's not. We've both felt enough physical pain in the past few weeks to be sure that it's not." I sigh. "We're both pretty messed up, huh?"

My dad shakes his head. "Nah. We've just been through a lot. We've got a lot of work to do, to get back to normal."

"But what if I don't want normal?"

My dad frowns again. "What do you mean."

"...normal for me is never seeing you. Getting ignored for your work or women." I spread my arms out, looking around the garage. "I don't get to do this with you. I don't want to lose this."

My dad squeezes my hand. "And you won't. I promise. You know I've always been here. I haven't been the best father. But I've tried to protect you. What happened just shows that I wasn't trying hard enough." He glances at the suit. "But now I am. I promise I won't let anything happen to you ever again."

I try to believe his words, but that coil of dread was still spinning in my stomach. That buzzing in the back of my head telling me this isn't over, that something bad is coming is still there. I want to believe that he's right, that he'll protect me. But with the feeling of foreboding hanging over me, I couldn't quite put my heart into it.

My dad swipes his thumb over the dark circles under my eyes. "Why don't you go get some rest? You look like you need it."

I nod, sliding off the table. "I will. Thanks, daddy." I kiss his cheek before heading back up the stairs, heading to my room.

Sleep doesn't come to me, despite my trying, laying in my dark room under the covers. I don't know how long I lay there, trying to relax unsuccessfully. My mind was still reeling, the talk with my dad really hitting home. Why he rebuilt the suit, why he did what he did. Why he did a lot of things. I felt guilty for screaming at him, being such a terrible daughter. The guilt is eating away at me, just as much as the sense of impending trouble.

I finally give up trying to relax, deciding to start a movie. "JARVIS?" No answer. There was always an answer. "JARVIS?" My dad would have told me if the AI was going to be down for maintenance. He had been working fine earlier.

My heart leaps into my throat as I jump out of bed, opening my door only to hear a voice floating up the stairs. The last voice I wanted to hear.

Stane.

My heart is pounding double time now and I slowly move back into my room, shutting my door silently, praying he hadn't heard it open. I lock it before grabbing my phone, running to my bathroom, shutting myself inside. I dial my dad's number, hoping to get an answer, but he doesn't. He had been downstairs in the garage when I came to bed. But there was no way I could get down there without Stane seeing me.

I'm dialing Pepper's number when I hear footsteps outside my door. I pray it's my dad, that he'll just imput his code and the door will unlock. I hold my breath as the handle jiggles, backing up against the counter, something sliding against the granite surface. I reach back, feeling one of the mirror shards. It's a decent sized piece, the end of it wicked sharp. I hold it in my hand, jumping as the door is broken open, JARVIS not running to seal it completely.

I grip the mirror shard, trying not to cut myself as I wait.

"Come out, come out wherever you are. I'm not going to hurt you, Zinnia. I just wanna talk." I can hear him nearing the bathroom. ''Uncle Obie just wants to ask a favor of you."

I know I won't be able to fight him if he gets the bathroom door open and there's no way to get out of the bathroom. Even if I managed to break one of the windows, it was a long fall into the pacific ocean. And then I'd have to swim a few thousand feet to either side in the dark to get to a beach. My only chance to get out of this is to maybe take him by surprise and run for the garage. There I would stand a chance of either escaping with a car, or using a weapon to fight him.

With a surge of adrenaline I fling the door open, nearly hitting him with it as I rush out, but he's still faster than me, grabbing my arm. But thankfully, not the one with the mirror shard. I swing back with my opposite arm, cutting his face with the shard, shocking him enough that his grip slips and I slide out, running for the door. He recovers faster than I thought he would, and he catches me again before I can make it down the stairs. I struggle but it's futile as something sharp pricks my neck, making me go limp.

"There we go. There's no need to fight. I'm going to take real good care of you, Zinnia."

The last thing I see before I black out are the stairs hurtling towards my face, and I'm sure if I hadn't been blacking out, I would have been laughing at the irony.


	13. Test Subject Number Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zinny learns some truths about the past.
> 
> Minor edits from the original version.

I don't know how long I'm out, but it had to have been quite a while. My settings have completely changed, and I know I'm not in Kansas anymore. Not that I had been in Kansas to begin with. For all I knew I could be in Kansas right now.

"Good. You're awake."

I groan when I hear his voice again. My memories come back: JARVIS being down, Stane in the house, trying to kidnap me. I was getting really tired of being kidnapped. I take a moment to look at my surroundings. They don't help me at all, telling me nothing about where I could be, but I know I'm in a lab of some sorts. There's monitors around me, and I'm hooked up to them with several wires. There's two other men in the room, both looking over some screens, a table with some nasty looking surgical equipment to my left. My heart rate starts to pick up, one of the machines echoing it.

"Relax, Zinnia. They just want to run a few tests. Do some research."

I try to move, only to find myself strapped down completely to a hospital bed. I could barely even jerk around, much less go anywhere.

"Why?"

Stane smirks, leaning against the side railing on the bed, looking down at me. There's a bandage on his cheek from where I'd cut him. I don't know why, but it gives me pride looking at it. If he survives after my dad finds him, he'd bear that mark for the rest of his life.

"We've been working on this for a long time. Trying to find the perfect balance. We tried many different combinations, testing it until we found the right one. But then came the problem of using it. Stark Industries would never approve a physically altering drug in its artillery list. Your grandfather worked on the serum that made Captain America. But after he went missing, your grandfather swore he'd never do anything like that again. There would only be one Captain America, and he was hell bent on finding Cap. So we had to move our little operation underground. Operating under the surface of Stark Industries, trying to move past the age old days of explosive technology. I can't even remember how many we tested on. Testing different gene patterns until we could find the one that would hold it. Sadly none of them did. The closest we ever came was with your mother."

My stomach drops at his words. None of it had been making sense. I knew that my grandpa had helped turn Captain America into well, Captain America. But Stark Industries having an underground human testing site that no one knew about except a select few? That was shocking. And the fact that my mother had been one of their test subjects? That was the most Earth shattering news of the night.

"That's right. It was her DNA that helped us fix our mistake. We thought that every unique sequence of DNA would adapt to the same serum. But with your mother's help, we found that we would have to alter the serum to match the person's DNA. And as a reward for her help, we decided to let her reap the benefits of her discovery. But...things didn't go quite as planned. She was the first person we tested the new serum on, but still, we didn't quite catch all of the glitches. You already know how that day ended."

I glare up at Stane. This man had been responsible for my mother's death all along, and my dad had kept him as a business partner all these years.

"Your father dug as deep as he could to try and figure out the circumstances around your mother's death. It wasn't hard to hide. Your mother was a chemist. A chemist dying of an accident wasn't exactly big news. But your father overlooked one tiny detail. If only he had paid attention, he would have learned that your mother never made it in to work that day. No, she was here, in this very room, undergoing the change of a lifetime." Stane stands up, walking around my bed. "After her death we had to set things aside for a while. Lay low while your father dug around, searching desperately for answers that were right in front of his face. I had hoped with the death of his parents, a sad loss really, and the death of his first and only love, he would be too grief stricken to really understand what he was seeing. And he had been. After a couple years we began searching again, using the results from your mother's tests and the readings we got when she died to perfect the serum. All we needed was a test subject. Someone we thought would be able to handle it."

"Let me guess. Me."

Stane smirks. "That's right! A gold star for the Stark Princess. Your mother had been the closest we had ever come to success. So why wouldn't your DNA work to? Maybe the mix of your mother and father would be enough to hold it. So we put off trying it until we deemed you old enough. Sure, you're not done growing yet. You won't be for a few more years, but we're running out of time. At first I had intended for you to die in Afghanistan along with your father."

"You?"

"Another gold star for you! I was the one who was supplying weapons to the Ten Rings. I was the one who tipped them off about your father, who paid them to take him out, but they had other plans. I had intended for both of you to die, or for your father to die and you go missing. I left that one open to them."

I feel hot tears of anger burning behind my eyes and I blink them away, trying to keep them down. "My dad trusted you."

"One of a number of mistakes. Most of them which have lead to his unfortunate death when he removed his own arc reactor in his mansion, unable to cope with the stress anymore. Perhaps if you live through this I'll let you run the show, with my assistance of course. You're going to change the future, Zinnia Stark. One way or another."

He turns, speaking with the other two men before leaving the lab, disappearing behind the door. The two men come over to me, one writing down my vitals while the other prepares a syringe. Panic starts to flood me, my heart rate beeping rapidly again.

"You don't have to do this."

"I'm sorry, Miss Stark. But we do." The one taking my vitals says.

They nod at each other, the one with the syringe searching for a vein before I feel a pinch in my arm. It hurt, but it was nothing compared to what was coming.

There's screaming.

I hadn't realized I was the one screaming. I also didn't remember blacking out, but I had. All I can feel is pain. It feels like there's invisible forces tearing each individual cell in my body apart all at once. I thought I knew pain before, but until now, everything I had felt was nothing. My vision starts to darken again, my body's attempt to conserve its energy, keep me alive while it fights whatever the serum is doing to me. I can hear the machines beeping wildly under the blood rushing in my ears. Under my own screams. I wonder for a moment if I'll survive this. If I'll get to see my dad again, get to live life past the ripe old age of 18. I wonder if I'll live to see tomorrow.

3RD POV:

Tony was seething. Obadiah Stane, the man he had once trusted had broken into his home, disabled his AI, stolen his arc reactor and left him for dead, and on top of it all, took his daughter. He had promised Zinny he'd protect her just hours beforehand, and he had just failed her. He didn't know where she could possibly be, or if she even had her phone on her. He seriously regretted not putting a tracking chip in her when she was little.

He had made it down to his garage, using the elevator, trying to reach his garage to find something, anything he could use to keep the shrapnel from entering his heart and killing him. He was still partly stunned from the Sonic Taser, his sheer stubborn will why he was able to move at all. As he goes through the door he sees the prototype arc reactor he'd built all those months ago in a cave. He'd told Zinnia to destroy it, but thankfully she hadn't. Instead she'd turned it into a piece of art for him, displaying that he really does have a heart. He'd been touched, blinking back tears when he'd seen it. Now he was relieved. He just had to get over there, crawling and dragging himself to get it.

But he can't quite find the strength to do it. He can't hold himself up enough to reach it, collapsing on the garage floor. He couldn't stand how weak he felt in that moment, not wanting to give up yet. He needed to find Zinnia and save her. Just like he promised himself he'd do while he watched helplessly as Stane dragged her down the stairs and out of the mansion. He's working to get the strength again when he hears a familiar mechanic whirring.

He would never admit it, but he had never been so happy to see Dummy in that moment. He'd built the two bots when he was still at MIT, Dummy being the worst disaster he'd ever built, but he couldn't get rid of the robot. Part comedic relief and part memory, he couldn't bring himself to break the robot down. But in that moment, he regretted ever threatening to do so. Dummy was there, holding the arc reactor in his claw, slowly lowering it so Tony could reach. He was annoyed, but he couldn't help himself.

"Good boy."

He breaks the glass, sad to ruin Zinnia's work, but desperate times call for desperate measures. He grabs the reactor, managing to get it hooked into the baseplate in his chest. He barely has the energy to move, but he knows he should. He knows he needs to get up and go save his daughter. He needs to know if Pepper's alright and if she's safe.

"Tony!"

For a second time that night he was grateful for someone. He can hear Rhodey calling for him, but he was helpless to do anything, still weak and feeling like hell. He can hear Rhodey making his way down to the garage, his best friend knowing exactly where to look first.

Rhodey is there in an instant, helping Tony roll over. "You okay?"

"Where's Pepper?" He gasps out, clinging to Rhodey like a lifeline.

"She's fine. She's with five agents. They're about to arrest Obadiah."

"That's not going to be enough."

"Is Zinnia here? Is she okay?" Rhodey asks as he helps haul Tony to his feet.

"Obadiah took her." Tony says, moving to don the suit.

"What?"

"I don't know where she is. He took me out first, then went after her. If she has her phone there's a tracking device on it. But if she doesn't, then we're flying blind."

Rhodey watches the armor close around Tony. He'd never even seen the suit in person, and it looked cooler up close.

"That's the coolest thing I've ever seen."

"Not bad, huh? Let's do it."

Tony blasts the crushed Cobra out of the way of the hole he'd created and never got fixed.

"You need me to do anything else?"

"Keep the skies clear." Tony says, before flying off into the sky, heading towards Stark Industries.

ZINNY'S POV:

I come back to consciousness in searing pain still. I hadn't been counting how many times I'd blacked out and came back, the memories all one dark swirl of pain. I managed to keep the screams down this time, trying to catch my breath as the pain goes ever on, burning its way through my body. The edges of my vision start to blur again, threatening unconsciousness again as other sounds, different sounds register in my head.

"It's working." I recognize one of the men's voices.

"I can't believe it!" The other one says.

"We finally found the right-" The first man's voice is cut off as something flies through the air, making impact with what I assume is the speaker's body.

"What the-" The sound comes again, the second man being cut off as well.

I probably should have been worried, but I was in so much pain in that moment, I would have welcomed any cure. Even death.

"Zinnia Stark?" A man comes into my line of sight. I can't see more than his outline, but he's tall with light hair. "I'm Agent Barton with SHIELD." He starts to undo the restraints around my body as my vision starts to darken. "You're gonna be okay."

The dark spots get bigger, my body stiffening through one more wave of pain as I slowly start to slip into the blissful darkness once again.


	14. I Am Iron Man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zinny wakes up in another new place and discovers something shocking about herself.
> 
> Minor edits from the original version.

Waking up in strange places was starting to get really old. But, at least this time I could recognize where I was. I was in a hospital. One of my least favorite places. I had my fair share of experience both being a patient, and dealing with my dad as a patient in hospitals. Only, this hospital was a little different. There was no TV, no windows. Instead I was in a glass box, surrounded by people in white coats on the outside. It takes a second to hit me, but then I realize what's going on. I was being quarantined.

I understood why. I had just been injected with something that had killed god knows how many people before me, including my mother. But here I was, semi conscious and barely alert. I didn't know what had been put in my body, and apparently neither did any of the people in white coats. Otherwise I had a feeling I wouldn't be in here. Or they did know, and it was bad enough they had to quarantine me.

Through the glass walls of my prison, past the people in lab coats running around I can see my dad, angrily speaking with Agent Coulson. I can't read Agent Coulson's expression from this far away, but I can tell my dad is getting annoyed. He was not used to having someone else in control. Much less keeping him from calling the shots when it comes to me and my wellbeing.

I feel like I laid there for an hour before I finally got contact with someone. Of course they were dressed in a hazmat suit because why not? I try to keep my sass in check as he keeps his distance, trying to tell me to keep calm, that they're working on figuring out what I had been given and what it had done to me. But my vitals were good. That was a plus, I guess.

Another plus was my dad's "I do what I want" attitude in that moment. He comes barging in to my little glass prison, sans hazmat suit, much to the displeasure of all of the people in the room. He was going to be stuck in that glass prison until they could clear me, but I was sure he didn't mind. Unless I really was toxic. Then I would mind, and he would be stuck breathing in toxic air. But I didn't feel toxic.

"Hi, princess. How do you feel?" My dad takes a seat next to my bed, grabbing my hand in his. His hand is warm and calloused as normal. There's some fading cuts and bruises on his face, making me wonder what had happened.

"I don't really feel anything right now." It was true. My whole body felt numb to a degree, like my pain receptors had just given out after the paid I'd been in. "What happened while I was out?"

My dad tells me about the fight with Obie and his untimely death. I try to hold in a cheer. He tells me about SHIELD picking up him and Rhodey before bringing them here where I had been brought in, still in bad shape at that point. Rhodey had left with him to to do a press conference the next day to account for the explosion at Stark Industries, and the robots people had seen fighting in the streets. He tells me about deciding to reveal himself to the world, causing another media storm.

"Iron Man? That's what you're going with?"

He shrugs. "It works. A bit dramatic but memorable."

I nod. "Right. You know, being a superhero means you're supposed to have a secret identity usually. No one's actually supposed to know you're Iron Man. Besides you know, Pepper and I."

He makes a face. "Secret identities are too mainstream. Plus now I don't have anything to hide."

"Right. Cause you never hide anything."

He gives me a stern look, changing the subject from him. He asks me about what happened to me, and I tell him, keeping out the details about Obie being behind my mother's death. I didn't want to keep anything from him, but at the moment, he had enough on his plate. He didn't need to hear what had happened.

Finally after what feels like hours someone comes in with an explanation. Apparently the caution had been for naught, and I was not toxic after all. I figured this by the young woman coming in sans hazmat suit. Either that, or she thought I was safe enough to be around without safety gear.

"Hello, Miss Stark. My name is Jemma Simmons. I work with SHIELD as a Biochemist and I thought you would like to know that there are no dangerous chemicals that are going to expel from you. It appears your body has absorbed them all."

"That's good...right?"

She smiles. "Well, in a way, yes. But I found that the chemical mixture that you were injected with's main purpose was to alter strands of your DNA. A way to...wake up dormant genes so to speak."

"Wait...wake up dormant genes? What does that mean?" My dad asks, that focused look on his face again.

"Mr. Stark, we believe your daughter may have superhuman abilities. And the purpose of this serum was to awaken those genes. And the fact that she survived the alteration points to a high possibility that the genes were in fact activated."

My head was reeling. Dormant genes? Superhuman abilities? I knew my dad didn't have any abilities. But they had been testing it on my mother...did she have powers too? I had heard about superhuman people on the news a few times. Mostly causing problems, with the intent of doing harm or not they were always detained and taken away to a "safer place." I didn't want to know where the safer place was. For all I know I could be sitting in it right now.

Jemma was still talking, explaining things to my dad. I didn't want to hear anymore. They didn't have any proof that I had abilities. Maybe I survived due to a miracle. Fate decided I wasn't done being stupid yet. I couldn't possibly have powers. I didn't want to be taken away by my dad and locked in a room alone to suffer because I might be dangerous. I had already been through that, being alone in a room, not knowing how my dad is doing, not being there, not knowing if he's even alive. I had spent three months locked in a cell, helpless to someone else's agenda. I wasn't about to experience that again.

I hadn't noticed during my internal rant that things in the room had started shaking. Jemma and my dad had stopped talking, watching in bewilderment as the glass walls had started to shake, as well as the equipment inside the room. My determination not to get caught again rode my anger and fear like a highway right out, causing beakers to explode, various needles and surgical tools embedding themselves in the glass wall, cracks extending outward from where they hit the thick glass.

"Zinny? Hey, snap out of it princess."

My dad's voice brings me back down from the place I'd been. I look around the room in shock. All four glass walls are cracked, looking like they might shatter at any second. The floor is littered with surgical equipment, shattered syringes and glass. The IV stand which had been empty the entire time I was there was twisted and bent in half, like a tree that stood through a hurricane. I had done all of that. I had gotten lost in my emotions, letting them drive me and I had done nothing but destroy a room of medical equipment.

Jemma is standing near the doors, a look of shock on her face. My dad's face is equally shocked as he stands over me. I keep focused on my dad's face, tears pooling in my eyes.

"Dad…"

He wraps his arms around me. "It's okay. It's okay. We'll get through this. We'll figure it out. We always figure it out."


	15. Adjusting To A New Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zinny tries to gain control of her powers while Tony grows distant from his daughter.

I don't know how my dad convinced them to let me go. It would always be one of those great mysteries of the universe. Or maybe he had just threatened to hang around all the time and be annoying. Which he wouldn't have had to threaten doing. He would have just done it anyways. But a day later, after the fiasco in my glass prison I was set free. SHIELD, as I had later learned, had been behind my rescue and figuring out what was wrong with me. Turns out I had dormant superpowers that were awoken in the most painful way possible by a cocktail of chemicals that would have killed a normal person. Hooray for abnormality.

I knew my encounters with SHIELD weren't going to be over. They screamed spy agency, and I new better than to think they were just letting me off the hook. They probably had a secret list of powered people that they kept eyes on at all times. And I was probably the newest addition to that list. Right in front of my dad, the now superhero Iron Man.

Iron Man exploded in a matter of hours, people already demanding interviews, appearances, merchandise. It was the best thing to happen to Stark Industries in a long time, and it was all thanks to my dad risking his life to save people and blow things up. I couldn't rag on him too much, I had helped him build the suit, only encouraging him more. And I knew he did it partly for me too. He had told me he did it to keep me safe. A lot of good that did, though. I had been kidnapped only a matter of hours later and turned into a super freak with uncontrollable powers.

And I mean, completely uncontrollable.

I found out very quickly that I could break shatterproof glass if I got startled enough. I probably cost my dad half of his salary in repairs in the first day of being back. I was starting to regret leaving SHIELD. They had offered to keep me there, let me train to use my powers, but I had denied it, thinking going home would be the best thing for me. It wasn't. I was jumpy and kept destroying things. My dad assured me it was alright and things could be replaced easily, but I couldn't help but get upset. I didn't want to destroy things. I couldn't have gotten a power that built things or healed people? Instead I was stuck randomly making expensive vases explode. Maybe I would have been better off staying with SHIELD. Maybe they could have figured out a way to help me control it. But it was too late now. I had to figure it out myself.

It takes a month of randomly shattering things to gain some semblance of control. I had been scared at first, terrified of my new abilities. What I had done to my glass cell at the SHIELD facility had stuck in my mind. My emotions had gotten out of control and I had destroyed half of my prison. What if I had hurt Jemma or my dad? How easily I could have let the control slip, but my dad had brought me back, reassuring me it was okay. I had only lost complete control twice more after that, the first time after a nightmare. I had woken up to all of the items in my room flying around me. The second time had been in the garage, my dad halfway across the world helping destroy more terrorists. I had lost contact with him for a few seconds and lost control in the worst possible place. It took a week to find everything and get it all back in order. Poor Dummy had wound up halfway out the garage door. The bot still doesn't trust me.

Granted, I hardly trust myself at this point. I had started to get control over my powers, enough to keep myself from losing it and destroying half the rooms in the mansion. I had also found an outlet for all of those pent up emotions. I had hired a personal trainer. Thinking about all of those times I hadn't been strong enough to defend myself, relying on others only made my powers flare up worse. So I started working out, making myself stronger. My personal trainer also taught me some real fighting. Not that Happy doesn't know how to fight, but his limits were boxing and that only gets you so far. And I definitely did not have a size advantage.

I found when I was at my calmest, my powers were the most in control. As long as I could stay calm, I could keep my powers at bay. But the second I lost it, things started breaking. It was a great crash course in mindfulness, but I can only stay calm for so long. My dad tried to help me, but he was constantly busy being Iron Man now. Saving people, making appearances. It was never ending. Meaning I was constantly alone, trying to figure out my powers. My dad and I still tinkered in the garage, making adjustments and upgrades to the suit, adding new features and such. But it was become more and more rare. I guess that comes with being a superhero when the world knows your not-so-secret identity.

Things go on as usual, my dad travelling around the world, being Iron Man and CEO of Stark Industries. We spend Christmas and New Years in Morocco, my dad cashing in his promise late. It was nice, getting away from the mansion for a couple weeks, getting a break after being cooped up inside for too long. It was also the first time I had been out in public since the change. I successfully managed not to break anything in public, keeping my cool enough to keep my powers at bay. It was tiring, having to be calm all the time. You'd think it would do wonders to my stress levels, but it was stressful, trying to stay calm all the time. I really needed to figure out another way to control my powers.

After the new year we returned to Malibu, having a small private party for my birthday. Just me, my dad, Uncle Rhodey, Pepper and Happy. It was all I wanted, after the stress of being in Morocco. Pepper and Rhodey knew about my powers, Pepper having witnessed the destruction of decorative pieces many times. Of course Rhodey knew about it. Being my godfather entitled Rhodey to know about everything going on. Plus he had been there at SHIELD when I had destroyed my glass prison. Kinda hard to pass it off as nothing when you witness it yourself.

As the months go on, my dad continues to work, both being Iron Man and at Stark Industries, making new business partnerships, raising stocks by saving the world. Normal billionaire hero stuff. And I stayed at home, trying to control powers that were seemingly uncontrollable while occasionally playing eyes and ears for my dad.

I spend a lot of time trying to help plan the Expo as well. My dad got the genius idea to open the Stark Expo only to widen his already large ego. He invited me to go with him to the opening ceremony, but I quickly reminded him why me being in a crowds of fans and cameras around very breakable and dangerous things might not be a good idea. He had left anyways, going to the opening ceremony as Iron Man.

Yeah, things between us are tense. He had been getting more and more distant ever since the incident at SHIELD. When he was home he was working in his lab, trying to make upgrades and work on new armor. More often than not he was off saving innocent people and making the world a better place. I knew something was bothering him, but he wouldn't talk about it. I had hoped, due to our shared experiences recently, that he would be more open with me. But that had been a fool's hope. It was almost like my dad was getting more and more distant, drawing away from me. I'm not going to lie, it hurts every time he pushes me aside to do something, or breaks off plans because there's someone who needs saving. It's selfish, I know, but I was terrified of my dad going back to his old ways. Things had been so good between us for a while, and now they were slowly falling apart again.

I'll spare the details, but the Stark Expo opening was a success, thousands of people flocking to get a sight of Iron Man and paying too much money to look at a bunch of gadgets. If I wanted to do that, I'd go down to Stark Industries on any weekday. There were always hopefuls there, trying to make a pitch and score big. But sadly, they hardly ever got to actually talk to my dad. Not that he listened when they did. I was lucky if I got him to listen to me, and I live with him.

The Expo was televised all over the news, making it easy to stay at home and lounge in my jammies with some popcorn while watching it on TV. The only downside was having to focus on not breaking the TV or some other important electronic device in the room. Like my cellphone when it rings a couple hours later. It was Pepper calling, which usually meant something bad was happening.

"Zinnia, I need you to pack a bag and get ready to leave immediately." Not even a hello. This was bad.

"Why? What's going on?"

"I'll be at the mansion shortly. We're catching the red eye to D.C."

"D.C.? Why D.C?" I get up, hurrying to my room to pack a quick bag.

"Your dad has a hearing with the Senate Armed Services Committee."

"So my dad's in trouble." Go figure. He was always getting himself into trouble. Same old dad, just with the hero status this time around. Maybe this was a good thing. Maybe something positive could come from the hearing.

Pepper's next words don't help my trying to be positive. "Either he is, or he's going to be."


	16. A Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zinny has a bad day all around. Tony tries to figure stuff out.

Having the senate hearing impede on my precious sleep didn't set my day off well. I slept as much as I could on the plane, but as soon as we touched down in D.C., we were off and running. My dad had decided to drive overnight, booking a hotel room for a few hours to change into the suit Pepper had packed for him. I tried to sleep a little more in the hotel room, but Pepper was insistent on making us arrive on time for once.

To spare the boring details, and the fact that I wasn't really paying attention, just focusing on not falling asleep or having my powers go haywire, the Senate hearing went well. Or as well as something can go with my dad having to speak with authorities. He doesn't really do well with authority figures.

It was a miracle he got out of there in one piece. Pepper caught me up on what I had missed while I snoozed on her shoulder in the middle of the hearing. My dad had talked himself out of some serious trouble, and having to hand over the suit to the public. I knew it was only the beginning of problems like these rising up, but at least my dad hadn't lost his superhero status yet.

What made the day even better was turning around just to fly back to Malibu after the senate hearing. I was glad I was awake through the flight, listening to the news coverage about the hearing. My dad was finally getting some good press after a stint of mixed reviews. People weren't exactly crazy about having a titanium alloy gentleman flying around. Other people were crazy about Iron Man, claiming the world was safer with him around. If only they knew.

I was nervous to even be in the plane with my mindset the way it was. The last thing I needed was to break a window mid-flight or cause something to malfunction or you know, make the engine explode. I was sure my dad had a suit stashed somewhere on board and he'd save us and we'd more than likely be fine, but I wasn't going to risk it.

We made it back to Malibu safely, Happy driving us back to the mansion in the Rolls. The car ride is silent, my dad tapping away at his phone, Pepper looking over the current news. I was silently glowering out the window. I was impressed I didn't cause the Rolls to break in half on the way home. Yeah, I was being that temperamental. Why though? I have no answers. Ever since the incident I had been moody. Trying to find balance was only stressing me out even more. My emotions go haywire and I lose control of my powers. Keep control of my emotions and I don't allow myself to feel anything, making me essentially a robot like society wants me to be. My emotions slip, I break something. I can't find a happy medium and it's slowly driving me insane.

As soon as we get back to Malibu I head down to the gym, grabbing my boxing gloves. My dad heads down to the garage, no doubt to bury himself in his work. As usual.

I spend some time in the gym, beating the crap out of a punching bag. It feels good to get that emotion out. As long as I'm doing something, like punching some inanimate object, I can let the emotions go. But as soon as I stop and try to feel them without the action, things start breaking. I was beyond frustrated about the fact that I couldn't figure out what makes my own powers tick. What I can and can't do, what I can and can't feel to avoid randomly breaking things and getting people hurt. I could help my dad build a better version of the arc reactor after Stane took the newest version and it was destroyed. I could help my dad build a suit that defied known technical and engineering limits. I could help make adjustments and improvements to said suit. But I couldn't even control my own goddamn brain.

I hated that this happened to me. I wish I could go back and change it. The full length mirror in my bathroom is heavy enough...if I had just put it through the window I could have jumped. I would have survived if I hit the water just right. Sure I'm not the strongest swimmer, and I wasn't as strong as I am now back then, but there's a chance I could have survived and I would be power free. I wouldn't have to stress about losing control all the time. Sure, I should be happy I'm alive. I survived an experiment that had killed everyone who had participated before me. I could have easily died that night. But here I was, stuck with something I didn't even want.

I don't notice how much my anger has risen, how hard I'm hitting the bag. The thoughts just kept coming, making me more and more angry, quickly making me lose control of my emotions. What happens next though, shocks me out of all anger completely.

My next punch doesn't even hit the bag. Before my fist collides with the sand filled sack, a wave of energy shoots out from my body. It feels like a shockwave forcing itself from my very core, ripping through me and out through my fist. The punching bag is ripped off its chain, the very seams holding it together bursting apart, sending sand raining across the room, even as far as the door. Everything that was in front of me goes flying forward. The weight stand, dumbbells and all tips over, weights rolling every which way. The weight bench and barbell go sliding into the wall, making a dent in the plaster. The force of the shockwave sends me flying back a couple of feet, and I land hard on my back. The wind is knocked out of me and I'm forced to lay there and stare at the ceiling while gasping like a fish out of water. I can hear JARVIS asking me if I'm alright, but I can't answer. My mind is reeling too much. What the hell had just happened?

I know my dad is coming already. JARVIS had probably alerted him the second he read something off about my body chemistry. JARVIS had noted all of the times I broke something, there's a slight change in my body chemistry. My dad had poured over it for days, trying to figure out of that was the key to finding my cure. But he had come up empty handed, sadly noting that my mother was the chemist before moving on to a different project.

There's two sets of feet running my way, I can hear them on the stairs up to the gym. One of them is not Pepper, as she would be talking in her panicking voice all the way up, and there's no clack of her heels on the marble.

"What the hell happened in here?" It was Happy with my dad. I should have expected it, given Happy spends half of his time in the gym boxing with my dad.

My dad's face appears above me, panicked with those stress lines on his forehead. His hands are all over, checking for broken bones, any cuts, taking my temperature, supporting my neck. "What happened? Are you hurt? Anything feel broken? Internal bleeding? Do you need an ambulance? How many fingers am I holding up?"

He holds his hand up in my face. "Four and a thumb. And I'm fine, dad. And as to what that was...I don't know."

I tell him about what happened, what it felt like and what I had been feeling before it happened. I leave out the details about what I was thinking about, not wanting to get into that with him right now. He still partially blames himself for what happened to me, something which I had repeatedly told him wasn't his fault. I knew that was part of the reason he was being distant. His excessive need to save the world, protect the innocent, build new suits. He felt guilty for what happened to me, and didn't want it to happen to anyone else.

His brow furrows as he listens to me talk, and I can see him doing calculations in his mind as he processes everything. "I think your powers extend to more than just breaking things."

I mentally facepalm. "I kinda figured that, seeing as I just broke your gym."

He looks around, seeming to notice the carnage for the first time. The lines on his face get even deeper, focused and slightly concerned. "JARVIS, forward the security footage to my computer in the lab. I want to see what happened."

My dad scoops me up, carrying me like I weigh nothing. He had gotten stronger, being Iron Man. The suit wasn't exactly light, even though it was built to carry most of its weight itself. He takes me down to the garage, leaving Happy to clean up the mess. He sets me on a table before pulling up the security footage, watching it over and over a few times. There was no visible sign of the shockwave leaving me, other than everything that wasn't attached to the floor in the gym going flying away from me. I can see my dad thinking again, and for a moment I wish I had gotten powers that allowed me to read his mind. Actually, scratch that. I didn't want to hear all of this thoughts. Just the ones that were happening right now.

"Telekinesis." He finally says, turning to me.

I frown. "What do you mean?"

He takes my boxing gloves off, setting them on the table before taking my hands in his. My knuckles were bruised from hours of pounding the bag to get my frustrations out. His hands were always bruised and cut up, rough calluses on his palms from working in the garage, and from the Iron Man suit. Despite having mechanic's hands, his touch could be gentle and feather light, like right now. His fingers were gently tracing over the bruises on my knuckles, his eyes watching my face.

"I think your powers are something along the lines of telekinesis."

"What, so I'm  _Carrie_ now? Great. Someone go get me a bucket of pig's blood."

My dad shakes his head, a smile pulling at his lips. "No, you're not  _Carrie._ At least, I hope you don't turn into her."

"I'll try my best."

My dad smiles. "But I do think your powers are telekinetic." He grabs a wrench off the table, setting it in front of me. "Try and lift that off the table."

"Dad, you know I-"

"Just try it. I'm curious."

"Curiosity killed the cat." I murmur as I focus on the wrench, trying to get it to lift off the table. Something shatters behind me, making me groan. "See? I told you."

"Well, I've got plenty of those coffee cups. Maybe we should have started with the coffee cup. We'll work on it. You will get control over them. Maybe you just need to work them a bit. Like exercise, but with your powers."

"I think randomly breaking things and rearranging your gym is enough work." I stare down at my fingers. "I don't even want these powers."

"Maybe that's your problem. Unless I can come up with a cure spontaneously, you're stuck with them. So you might as well make the most of it."

Yeah, easy for him to say.


	17. Bad Decisions All Around

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pepper's the new CEO, Tony has a new assistant, and a trip to Monaco ends badly.

A lot happens over the next few weeks. My dad makes Pepper CEO, which I 100% agree with. She was practically running the company anyways, and it just made more sense to make her CEO. And it was better than him trying to make me do it. That was the last thing I needed right now.

With Pepper's rise to CEO, my dad's position for personal assistant was left wide open. He was instantly flooded with applications as soon as the news got out. Pepper and I, along with half of the IT department at Stark Industries sorted through all of them, removing applicants with no experience, shady backgrounds or just flat out begging for the job. Those were the worst. They only wanted a taste of the high life and a chance to be close to Tony Stark. Being my dad's assistant definitely wasn't easy and if they weren't even willing enough to send in a resume with their begging they weren't cut out for the work involved in babysitting my dad.

We narrowed it down to a dozen candidates, planning on having my dad meet them for an interview shortly after the papers were signed. And of course they had to send the most attractive person to bring the papers. The first gorgeous woman my dad lays his eyes on, who isn't even wanting to be his assistant gets offered the job. I mean, she wasn't hard to look at. Shiny red hair, pouty lips, curves even I envied. I could understand why he chose her. Plus she had pinned Happy in two seconds in the boxing ring. She could take care of herself. Maybe she would be willing to teach me a few of those moves too.

Surprisingly she agreed to the job offer, and immediately jumped in, making sure everything was in line for our trip to Monaco for the Grand Prix in a couple of days. It was a chance for Pepper to get out and socialize as the new CEO of Stark Industries and we could show our support for Team Stark as well. I wasn't thrilled about going, but getting out and getting used to being in crowds with my powers was good. Since babying my powers wasn't working, maybe forcing myself into uncomfortable situations would. Force myself to gain control over them.

This was going to go well.

I can already tell my decision to come was a bad idea. The areas around the track are completely full, and even worse we had to drive down the track to get to our viewing area inside a private party at a hotel. People were packed in the stands, waiting to see the race, and as many famous rich people as possible. I try not to break the rental car as we get out, my dad throwing peace signs at the crowd while Pepper and I try to get inside as quickly as possible. We were both nervous, but for completely different reasons.

My dad tries to reassure Pepper as we enter the party, the inside full of various rich people from all over the world. I was glad I had decided on a black dress. Hide my sweat stains. I head over to the bar to get a non-alcoholic drink to soothe my nerves as my dad and Pepper stop for a photo. I stay at the bar, sipping my drink, my dad and Pepper making their way over to the bar eventually. I could hear them bantering as usual, something I never got tired of hearing.

"Anthony, is that you?" A very distinct voice sounds over the crowd and I can already see the distaste on my dad's face.

"My least favorite person on Earth." I hear my dad say, and I hide my smile in my water.

"Hey pal." Justin Hammer comes over, patting my dad on the shoulder.

My dad has a curious relationship with Justin Hammer. The only way I can describe it, is that my dad is one of the "cool" Seniors in high school, accomplished, class president, pretty much king of the world. And Justin Hammer is the annoying freshman who tries to mimic everything my dad does to make himself look cool but only makes himself look stupid. Yeah, that's as close to their dynamic as I can get.

"Justin Hammer." I can hear the distaste in his voice from my seat.

"How are you doing? You're not the only rich guy here with a fancy car. You know Christine Everheart from Vanity Fair." The blonde my dad had brought home from Vegas a year ago comes over. This is why I had told my dad not to bring home journalists. "You guys know each other?"

"Yes." Pepper said.

"Yes, roughly." My dad says, trying to avoid an awkward conversation.

"BTW big story. The new CEO of Stark Industries." Justin says, pointing at Pepper.

"I know." Christine looks about as comfortable as I do around Justin Hammer. "My editor will kill me if I don't grab a quote for our Powerful Women issue. Can I?"

"Sure."

"She's actually doing a big spread on me for Vanity Fair. I thought I'd throw her a bone." Justin says.

"Well, she did quite the spread on Tony last year." Pepper says, and I have to hide my smile again.

"And she wrote an article as well." My dad adds.

"It was very impressive. Very well done." Pepper says.

"Thank you." I could feel the awkward tension building from my seat.

"I'm going to go wash." Pepper was smart, getting out of there as quickly as possible.

My dad and Justin leave the bar, and I can tell my dad is trying to ditch him. But Justin is relentless, following my dad like a desperate puppy. I leave them be, knowing my dad will figure out how to get out of this awkward situation as quickly as possible. I stay at the bar, sipping my water as I try to ignore the itching at the back of my brain. That sick feeling is rising again, telling me something is going to go wrong. I know it's stupid thinking that, seeing how tight security is here. But I had thought security would be tight in Afghanistan. I also thought I'd be safe in my own home, given our all knowing AI. But even then things had still gone wrong. I didn't want another repeat of that.

Pepper comes back a few minutes later, my dad having ditched Justin to use the bathroom. I follow Pepper to our table, sitting close to the window, which gives me a view of the room. I put my chin in my hand, sighing.

Pepper notices, giving me a soft smile. "You're doing great so far."

"I should be saying that to you."

"Thank you. But I meant with controlling your...situation."

We had agreed not to call my powers what they were out in public. The last thing we needed was someone to overhear us talking about powers and blow things out of proportion. I wasn't ready for the world to know about my abilities, especially when I had so little control over them. The world would find out eventually. Something would happen and I'd have to use them and then everything would blow up for a while. I'd have to go into hiding and my dad would answer all of the questions. Why had we kept them hidden for so long? When did I get them? Did I always have them? How did I get them? Can they get some too?

It was all bound to happen eventually.

My dad takes a long time coming back from the bathroom and I quickly realize why. "Oh god."

"What?" Pepper looks up from the menu at me, and I point to the TV. My dad is walking on the track, dressed in a racing suit.

"Natalie. Natalie!" Pepper waves my dad's new assistant over.

"Yes, Miss Potts?" The redhead rushes over.

"Did you know about this?"

"This is the first I've known of it." Natalie says. I didn't even know about it.

"This...this cannot happen."

"Absolutely. I understand. How can I help you?"

"Where's Happy?" Pepper asks.

"He's waiting outside."

"Okay, get him. I need Happy."

"Right away." Natalie rushes out of the room, going on a search for Happy.

"He's lost his mind." I say as the race begins, the cars speeding off.

Out of all of the stupid, impulsive ideas my dad has had over the years, this by far takes the cake. The chances of him dying or getting seriously injured in this one: highly likely. I can already feel my emotions spiralling out of control as the cars go racing past the hotel. The last thing I needed right now was to break a window or bring down the ceiling. I hadn't managed that yet, but with the panic I was feeling in that moment, I wouldn't put it so far off.

Everyone watches in confusion and shock as one of the workers walks out onto the track, not even phased by the cars flying past him. That bad feeling was itching now stronger than ever. I watch as he unbuttons his orange jumpsuit, revealing a glowing circle in the middle of his chest that looked almost like...No. It couldn't be. Two long cables extend from his hands, glowing with electricity. He swings at the first car that comes barreling towards him, cutting the front clean off, sending it flipping down the track.

"Pepper." I point to Happy who was holding the case containing my dad's Iron Man suit. Pepper gets up, turning to me to tell me to stay but I'm already on my feet. "I'm coming with you."

"No. You stay here."

I shake my head. "No. If something goes wrong I can help. I'm not sitting here and doing nothing."

She looks like she wants to argue but we don't have time for that. She relents, letting me come along and we rush to our rental with Happy, quickly climbing in and driving down the track to find him. The Stark car would make it to the man before we would, I could just hope my dad could fend for himself long enough for us to get there. People were already running from the stands, some trying to get closer, some running for their lives the closer we got. We were driving the wrong way down the track, Happy trying to dodge cars while digging the key to the suit out of his pocket.

As we get closer to my dad, the air turns smokey, police and security trying to clear the stands of people. I can see fire ahead and my breath catches in my throat. I try not to panic because the last thing we needed was for me to break this car in half. Still hadn't managed that one yet, but in that moment I felt like it was possible. Happy rounds the turns and we spot the man with the electric cables, my dad on the other side of a flaming car near the fence. Happy keeps driving and my dad gets the idea, jumping up as Happy rams the bad man into the fence, trapping him between the car and the fence. It knocks him out for a moment and my dad jumps down, coming over to us.

First he yells at Happy, asking if he was aiming for my dad or the other guy. Then Pepper starts screeching at my dad, both of them arguing and only making my emotions worse off. I was halfway tempted to get out and throw something at them to get them to stop. But thankfully my dad decided to get in the car, only in time for the man to wake up, cleaving the car's door in half with one of his cables. I could feel the electricity from where I was sitting in the middle seat. Happy backs the car up before hitting the man a second and third time. I didn't know how the guy could still be alive after being hit that many times, but he was alive enough to split the roof of the car in half. Thankfully I had the instinct to duck just in time, otherwise I would have been split down the middle too. The man does quite the number on the car before my dad gets his hands on the case.

I remember working on the case with my dad. The thought to make a suit small enough to carry and easier to assemble. It had been quite the task, but we had managed it after a few tries. The suit conforms to my dad's body, locking together. He kicks the car out of the way, trying to get a shot at the man, but his repulsors are too slow, the man's cables ripping pieces of armor off before my dad can get a shot. And the shot he does get in is blocked easily. It's not going well, just as I had predicted. It takes me a moment, enough time for my dad to get tangled up in the man's cables and thrown around in the suit for me to get the courage to act. I use the moment he's thrown on the car to slip out, ducking behind the back of the car, waiting for the right moment. Did I know if it would work? No. Was there a high chance that I would get both myself and my dad killed? Oh yeah. A really good chance.

I find my moment when my dad is down, wrapped in one of the man's cables still. I stand up, moving closer to the scene. "Dad, get down."

"Zinnia!"

I channel all of my anger, my fear, everything I'm feeling in that moment, praying that it works and I thrust my hand out.

The sound is like an explosion, the force enough to send me flying back against the car. My ears are ringing as the dust settles, my brain conscious enough to see the carnage I had just dealt. Everything that had been within ten feet in front of me was pushed back so far I couldn't even see some of it. The fences on both sides of the track are bent away, warped like they had stood through a hurricane. My dad had been knocked to the ground, more pieces of his armor gone. The cable is still wrapped around him, but no longer electrified. The man is a few feet away, his chest piece and the makeshift armor he'd been wearing to give his cables power was in pieces around him. The remnants of race cars had been thrown back further than I could even see.

My legs start to give out from under me, Monaco CRS agents making their way onto the track and over to us. My dad is at my side in an instant, catching me before I can fall. There's something wet dripping down my face and I can taste blood in my mouth.

"Zinnia, stay with me."

I can't. My body goes limp as I give in to the darkness that had been pulling at me, the shock and adrenaline finally wearing off as I pass out in the midst of my own destruction.


	18. Slippery Slope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zinnia's choice has some unforeseen consequences.

Waking up in hospital rooms was getting old. At least this one wasn't a glass prison, but there were nothing but police officers outside in the hallway. The news was on, and I didn't have to understand French to know that they were talking about what happened. Of course the news had seen everything, including my shockwave. Our idea about keeping my powers a secret hadn't exactly worked out all that well. I had blown that one right out the window. Quite literally. I watch as the news shows the destruction, the warped fences, the ruined cars spread down the track.

"Turn it off please."

The screen goes dark, my dad's face appearing in my line of sight. "Zinnia-"

"I'm sorry. You were losing. The suit couldn't even hold up against him."

"You could have gotten yourself killed."

"I know. And you would have died too, along with Pepper and Happy. But some risks are worth taking."

I can tell he's angry. I can tell he wants to yell. He's chewing his lip like he always does when he's upset and trying not to say something that will only make it worse. One of those rare occasions when that happens.

"Using my own words against me. I taught you too well." He sighs, looking down at his hands. He's changed into more casual clothes, the cuts on his face cleaned up. "Better me than you, if we're going to talk about dying."

"But we're not going to. We're still alive, Pepper and Happy are okay..."

"But you're not. You were turning grey, Zinnia. Your body was burning hot. I could tell even without the suit that you were very much not okay."

"I feel fine now."

"But you're not fine. You nearly killed yourself doing that, Zinnia. You could have hurt other people too."

"But I didn't." My voice is quiet. I don't want to admit he's right.

"You could have hurt people, Zinnia. Sure you saved our lives, but it could have been much worse. I had him on the ropes, and I would have gotten him without putting anyone else in danger. You can't control your powers. It's a miracle the destruction was only as bad as it was. You knocked over a few people but thankfully no one got hurt. I appreciate you trying to help me, but if helping me puts others at risk, I don't want you stepping in like that. Even if I'm getting my ass handed to me. I'm capable of fighting my own battles."

"But you don't have to, dad. You don't always have to do things alone."

"There are some things I have to do myself, Zinnia."

"But you don't have to. I want to help you!"

"I don't want you getting hurt trying to help me. I can't lose you, Zinny."

"You won't, dad!"

"I almost did!" He's almost yelling now. "I've almost lost you too many times. I'm not putting you at risk." He stands up, heading towards the door, pausing at the end of my bed. "Maybe I should have left you with SHIELD." He heads to the door, muttering. "I'm going to go find a doctor, see about getting you out of here since you're obviously fine."

I fight back tears as he goes, frustrated that I can't even talk to him anymore. I can feel my heart rate rising, the monitor beeping as I try to keep myself from losing control. I didn't know what would happen if I used my powers now, or if I even could. But I wasn't keen to find out.

I get myself calmed down before my dad comes back with a nurse, my dad silently watching as she unhooks me from everything. He sets a bag down on the bed containing clean clothes and shoes. He leaves the room while I change, still feeling weak, but not enough to warrant any concern. Still, the doctor insists I use a wheelchair, Happy pushing me down to the ambulance bay so we could avoid any unwanted attention, as the front of the hospital was flooded with the press.

I slide into the car, Pepper sitting between my dad and I in our new rental as we head to the airport to fly home. The car is tense and silent, my dad for once having nothing to say. Pepper is watching the news, everyone going crazy over the man that attacked my dad, his technology and the fact that I have powers.

I sleep on the way home, staying in my private cabin the entire ride. I don't want to face Pepper or my dad or the news. I was still exhausted from my powers and the emotional turmoil that I was feeling. My dad wasn't being his normal annoying self. This...this was much worse. I mean, he even said he should have left me with SHIELD. He was the one who fought so hard to let me go. Now he was going back on that. For all I knew, SHIELD would come after me for that stunt in Monaco anyways. Maybe they had already told my dad and were waiting for us to land at the airport. Maybe that's why he was being so distant.

I still couldn't shake the feeling that something else was wrong. He hadn't been himself for a while. Maybe it was the stress of being Iron Man and Tony Stark at the same time. Maybe it was everything that had happened over the past year. Or it could be something else entirely. I wouldn't know. He doesn't talk to me anymore.

Thankfully SHIELD wasn't waiting for us when we arrived back in the states. The tarmac was clear of paparazzi, something I was grateful for. I wasn't ready to face them physically or emotionally. I was still exhausted despite sleeping the entire flight home. I had conked out and wouldn't have even known if we crashed. I felt like I needed three full days worth of sleep.

And I did sleep for the majority of the next week. I didn't want to put up with my dad or face the news anymore so I slept. I still felt exhausted and my body was grateful for the rest. I got up to eat still, the nagging hunger enough to pull me out of bed long enough to satiate it before I went right back under my covers.

I finally satisfy my body's need for sleep the day that my dad's birthday party is supposed to take place. I was supposed to help plan it, my dad wanting just a small get together this year. But due to my being incapacitated by sleep, I had missed out on the planning process. I figured Natalie was more than capable of putting things together, afterall Pepper was still around for assistance if she needed it.

I take a shower after I wake up to shake off the groggy feeling that had been weighing me down. Sleeping for a week will do that to you. I still look like hell. My hair was hopelessly tangled and despite my sleeping marathon I still had dark circles under my eyes. I was starting to think I got blessed with the trademark Stark eye bags.

I try desperately to get a comb through my hair, soaking it with detangler but it's horribly knotted. It hadn't been brushed or washed in a week and it was definitely noticeable. I had managed to get the comb tangled in my hair when there's a knock on my door. I yank a couple times unsuccessfully before I give up, going to answer my door with a comb hanging in my face.

Natalie is standing at my door, a small smile forming on her face at seeing the comb stuck in my hair. "I came here to ask for your opinion, but I see you might need some assistance."

"Unless you're a miracle worker, I don't know if this can be fixed."

She smiles, stepping into my room. "I don't know about miracle worker, but I'll definitely give it a try."

Natalie was a miracle worker. That's all I can say. It took the better part of an hour, but she managed to tame the beast. There was a lot of tugging and fighting, but she finally got it smooth enough to run a comb through it. Not only did she manage to tame the beast, she also got it styled successfully, and made me look less like a zombie. She didn't pry about anything while she was doing my hair, keeping the conversation light and simple. It was rather nice having someone to talk to who didn't know every little detail about my life. Who hadn't lived through a majority of it and experienced it first hand. I was beginning to think I would really like having Natalie around. And of course, that's when everything started to crumble.


	19. Explosive Altercations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony's birthday party is a mess. Zinny gets tangled up in a sticky situation.

There were a lot more people at the party than I expected. My dad's small get together had quickly grown into a full out party. He was nearly a full bottle of scotch in, and things were quickly getting out of control. His liquor pantry was nearly half gone, a majority of the guests drunk, and I was trying to be the responsible one and keep things from getting broken. Yeah, ironic. The girl who broke things uncontrollably is the one keeping other people from breaking them.

Things got really bad when my dad pulled out the suit. I wish I was talking about an expensive Armani, but no. He was walking around in the Iron Man suit. Correction: he was walking around  _drunk_ in the Iron Man suit. I couldn't say I wasn't a little disappointed. His drinking had improved after our kidnapping in Afghanistan. He would still let loose a little at a party, but he hadn't been this drunk in a long time. And I was helpless to do anything but stand there and relive my childhood. Seeing him this way wasn't anything new. I had spent nearly my entire childhood seeing him like this. But I had thought things were improving. I had a fool's hope that he would put aside the excessive drinking and ditch the party life. But right now, I was being proven foolish.

I wanted to disappear. I wanted to go to my room, cover my head with a pillow and pretend like this wasn't happening. But I was alone until Pepper and Rhodey made it through the throngs of still arriving guests. Natalie was somewhere, or at least I thought she still was. I wouldn't blame her if she left, though. I wanted to disappear in that moment, since my dad had apparently noticed I was there. Funny, considering I lived there too.

Normally I can handle my dad when he's drunk, even when he's making a fool of himself in front of a crowd of drunk people. Most of them wouldn't even remember what happened tonight, which was reassuring, but in that moment it didn't make any difference. Things were about to go horribly wrong.

My dad tries to call me up next to the DJ with him, which I politely decline, only for him to get the audience into goading me. The last thing I wanted in that moment was to be in front of a bunch of drunk people, but I knew I had a greater chance of diffusing this whole thing from up front. So, I put on my Stark brave face and make my way through the bodies to my dad. He stinks like alcohol, the smell slightly nauseating but I keep it together.

"My beautiful daughter, everyone." My dad says, and I get a cheer from the crowd.

I smile at them, waving a little before turning to my dad, making sure to keep the microphone down. "Dad, you're drunk."

"Hi drunk, I'm dad." He bursts out laughing, nearly falling over. Totally not how that joke works.

"Dad, you're so drunk you're trying to make dad jokes. You need to get out of the suit and shut down the party."

"We're just getting started!" He had somehow gotten the microphone back up, his words making the crowd cheer.

"Use your powers!" Someone in the crowd yells, getting a couple cheers in agreement.

I grab the microphone, shaking my head. "I don't really think that's a good idea."

"Come on, make something explode!"

I was ready to make the crowd explode, but I didn't even know if I could do that. I wasn't about to try either. They were drunk and that was no excuse to go making people explode. More cheers for me to use my powers come from the crowd, and I try to diffuse it, until something comes sailing towards me. I manage to duck, pushing my dad out of the way as a glass bottle shatters on the wall behind us. I can feel the emotions starting to bubble up, panic the first one that rears its head as the crowd starts to chant.

"Dad...make them stop."

My dad just smiles at me. "Loosen up a little, Z! It's not that bad."

Coming from the man that had yelled at me in the hospital in Monaco for using my powers on the off chance I had gotten someone hurt, that was not reassuring. Just a measure of how drunk he really was. A liquor bottle comes sailing through the crowd, shattering at our feet.

"Dad...please."

I'm forced to use them when a glass sculpture comes sailing right towards me. I can only pray that my powers work and they don't kill me as I throw out my hand, the glass shattering and raining on the crowd. They were so drunk they didn't care, only cheering. I immediately feel weak, my legs starting to wobble a little. The crowd is still cheering, a couple more bottles being lobbed at me. One goes wide and misses us completely, the other one sailing towards my dad and I'm forced to make that one explode too. I start to feel drained, the panic rising even more, a few bottles on the wall behind me shattering, raining glass and alcohol down on me.

I'm about ready to bring the house down when I see Pepper, using the crowd's distraction to slip away, nearly falling over from exhaustion. I hurry over to Pepper who was standing there in shock.

"Zinnia, what's happening."

I try to catch my breath, and I can feel my legs wanting to give out under me. "I have to leave. I can't...I can't…"

Pepper just nods, giving me a concerned look as I stumble out of the mansion, losing my heels somewhere along the way. I don't care that I'm running barefoot as I make it out into the cool spring air. I stop partway down the driveway, sitting down on one of the concrete guardrails. I put my head between my knees, trying to breathe as I fight to gain control over my emotions. I felt like I was going to puke, my body shaking from the strength using my powers had sapped. I couldn't believe my dad had just stood there, letting them do that. He had been so angry with me for using my powers to save his life...having me use them for his party's drunk entertainment was unbelievable. He hadn't even tried to stop them. I could have easily gotten hurt if my powers hadn't worked. Even worse I could have hurt the people in the crowd. For all I knew I had.

I don't know how long I sit out there, trying to clear my head and process everything. I didn't want to believe any of it had been real. That I was stuck in some strange dream, still curled up in bed. But I knew I wasn't. The fatigue, the emotional pain...it was very real.

An explosion off to my left startles me. I can see smoke billowing up where the mansion is. My heart leaps into my throat, a thousand thoughts running through my head. How long had I been gone? Had Pepper been unable to talk my dad down from his drunken haze? Had someone tried to assassinate him again? I jump to my feet, ready to run back to the house, but in my distraction, I had failed to notice the two men walking towards me, or even how close they were.

Before I can even move, something hits me on the back of the head hard, making my world go dark.

I was groggy when I woke back up. As usual, getting knocked out and kidnapped was getting very old. I had a few complaints to file with life, many of them including kidnapping and getting knocked out. My head is throbbing, and for a moment I'm afraid I have another concussion, but thankfully I don't get nauseous when I move my head a little. Doesn't mean I don't have one, but I've certainly felt worse after being hit in the head.

Something bright hits my eyes and I'm thankful they're closed. The light burns my eyes through my eyelids. I can hear the hum of fluorescents, and the sound of a few pairs of shoes. I slowly open my eyes, squinting against the harsh light, the white room not doing anything to help. For a moment I wonder if it was SHIELD that had taken me, but then I realize my situation is so much worse.

"Welcome back to Earth, Miss Stark."

I groan, trying to ease my aching shoulder from where it had been holding my weight on the hard floor. "Justin Hammer."

"I'm sorry about having to knock you out, but we just couldn't take any risks, given your show at the Grand Prix in Monaco."

"What do you want, creep?" I manage to get myself into a seated position, sending my glare to Justin.

"Why,  _I_ already have what I want. You're here for another reason. Though it did feel good to take Tony Stark's most precious possession, you're here for another reason."

I give him a look. "Let me guess, you're not going to tell me."

He smirks. I want to punch him. "Oh no. You're going to see why you're here."

The two men that had been standing behind him walk over to me and grab my arms, hauling me up between them. My legs still felt like jelly, partly due to being knocked in the head and partly because of how much I had used my powers. I knew the chance of me being able to use them to get out of here alive was slim. I was in no shape to use them, much less fight. I would have to talk my way out until I could get my strength back, or find an easy exit. The former was more likely to happen.

I try to memorize the way that they drag me through the winding hallways, but then I realize there's no use. I could only find my way back to the room I was being held in which didn't get me very far.

They stop in front of a door, Justin using a keypad to unlock it. The code was probably something lame like his birthday, not that hard to hack. But there wasn't likely a keypad on the other side, leaving me stuck inside. I wasn't sure what was behind that door, but I really didn't want to find out. But I knew I was going to no matter what.

Justin opens the door, nodding for the men to throw me in, and they do. I shake off the dizziness from hitting the floor, turning back to the door only for my eyes to land on the figure in the corner of the room. My stomach drops into my feet, and I back myself into the furthest corner away from him.

"Have fun, Miss Stark." Justin smirks at me, before closing the door, the lock clicking.

"Oh no."

Sitting across the room from me is the very man that had tried to kill my father in Monaco. The same one I had hit with the biggest force of my power I had ever used. And now we were stuck in a room with no escape. The man regards me, looking me over with a bored expression on his face.

"Your power. How long have you had it?" He has a thick accent, Russian more than likely. I don't answer, but it doesn't stop him. "Must be not very long. You don't have control."

"How can you tell?"

He smirks. "The aftermath. Too big and sloppy for someone with control. Could have just aimed for me, but you hit more. Your powers are new to you."

I sit a little taller. "And if they are?"

He smirks. "I want to kill your father. Hammer promised me a Stark and now I have you."

"I'm not my father."

"No. But you are a Stark."

I try to believe my next words. "My father will come to save me. He'll kill you for this."

"Your father is no killer."

"But you are."

He smirks again. "Yes. It will be worth it to see his face when I tell him he couldn't save you before killing him."

His words don't do anything to reassure me that I'll be alright. I was terrified that I might not be getting out of this one alive.

When he was threatening me, I had many ideas of what he would do to me. Torture, beating me up and leaving me for dead. Tying me to a chair with some cables and strapping a bomb to my chest somehow slipped my mind. Needless to say I was terrified. My dad had once joked about teaching me to diffuse bombs. I had jokingly returned that stuff like that only happened in movies. But here I was, eating those words. Not like I could have done much. I would have to figure out a way to untie myself before getting started on the bomb. And I was no bomb expert. Safe to say I was royally screwed. I could only hope that my dad knew I was missing. That he really would come after me. That he was even alive to do so.


	20. Decisions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nat comes to the rescue. Zinny has some decisions to make.

I had no idea what was going on, but I knew it couldn't be good. My captor was sitting across the room, doing something on a computer. I couldn't see what he was doing, but I knew it would only end badly. The bomb on my chest wasn't currently counting down, but I had figured he had a plan to start it and run. I wasn't sure how long I'd have if he got the chance to start it, but he didn't seem the type to give me much time. My chances of living through the night? Slim.

Ten minutes. That's how long I had left of my life. Ten whole minutes. I was starting to think about my life, how it had been. How insanely difficult the past year had been. The kidnapping in Afghanistan, my dad's life depending on a miniaturised reactor in his chest, my dad building a suit to get us out, my dad and I rebuilding the suit, my getting kidnapped again and tested on, getting powers I never even got a chance to figure out how to work, my dad revealing to the world his new status as a superhero, never getting to talk to him and apologize for everything. I wouldn't even get to say goodbye. Whether or not Vanko got to see my dad's face when he realizes he can't save me, he could be happy knowing my death would destroy my dad.

I had been coming to terms with my death, the timer counting down from six minutes when the door flew open. For a moment I'm scared it's Justin or Vanko again, but it's the last person I expected to see. My dad's new assistant was there in a catsuit, guns in hand. It was shocking to say the least. I mean, I knew she was badass, but this wasn't what I had pictured.

She rushes over to my side, Happy behind her in the doorway. She regards the bomb on my chest and the timer, now at five minutes. I was nervous. I had no idea if she knew how to diffuse a bomb, and if she could do it in five minutes. Could a bomb be diffused in five minutes? They could do it on TV, why not in real life? Natalie looks at the mess of wires, and I can see the calculations going on in her head.

"I hope you know what you're doing."

"I detangled your hair, didn't I? No that much different than diffusing a bomb."

If the situation hadn't been so tense, I might have laughed. "Touche."

She looks over the bomb one more time, before pulling a knife from somewhere on the catsuit.

"You sure you know what you're doing?"

She looks up at me, meeting my eyes. "It's going to be okay. You're gonna get out of here."

The timer was down to two. My heart was pounding as she grabs a wire, slipping her knife under it. I swear the world stopped spinning for a moment, the very core of the planet holding its breath as she cuts the wire. The timer stops counting down, all three of us breathing a collective sigh of relief. She removes the bomb from around me, cutting my restraints loose as well.

"Who are you?"

She smiles at me. "Natasha Romanoff. Agent of SHIELD." She offers me her hand, helping me stand.

"SHIELD? Did they send you to watch me?"

She smiles. "Both you and your dad. The Director of SHIELD sent me to analyze your father and keep an eye on your abilities. SHIELD likes to keep tabs on powered people, making sure they don't do anything to cause any scenes or get anyone hurt. You certainly caused quite the scene."

I bite my lip as she moves over to the computer. "Yeah, about that…"

I can see her smirk. "Don't worry. You didn't hurt anyone and I already determined you didn't have any bad intentions."

I nod. "So...that's a good thing?"

"Well, SHIELD currently doesn't have any need to arrest you, so yes. I would say that's good. But you are going to have to tell them what happened. They should be here shortly. You can meet them out front. They'll take you somewhere safe."

Great. Just what I wanted. To go somewhere with SHIELD again. The last time I wound up with them, they had wanted to keep me and learn more about my powers. My dad had fought to keep me from them, and had succeeded. I wasn't exactly excited about going with them, but I knew I didn't have much of a choice.

So, I marched out of Hammer Industries with a bomb in my hands, making my way to the street where several black SUV's and a bomb squad truck were waiting. I hand the bomb over to the professionals, happy to have it away from me, even though Natalie...Natasha...whatever her name is had reassured me it wouldn't go off. I didn't exactly trust that notion, not after seeing how smart the man who built it was.

As soon as the bomb is out of my hands I'm being ushered into an SUV surrounded by armed agents and driven away from Hammer Industries. I'm given the lowdown as the SUV speeds through traffic. No, I wasn't being arrested. I hadn't done anything wrong. I was being taken somewhere safe to get checked for injuries and then give a statement about what happened. I would get to see my dad as soon as they can get him to the compound. That didn't reassure me, and I wasn't entirely positive I even wanted to see my dad. For all I knew he wouldn't even come. He'd tell SHIELD to keep me and train me. It would be safer for everyone.

The SHIELD compound looks just like the one in California, inconspicuous and large. I'm escorted to the med bay, getting checked over by some doctors. I had a mild concussion and a few bruises, but nothing that wouldn't heal.

After I was cleared medically, I was sent into a conference room. They promised I wasn't being arrested, but they just needed to ask me a few questions. There's a man already in the room, standing so he's facing the windows. He's wearing a black coat, and from his reflection I can see he only has one eye, the other covered with a patch. He keeps his back to me while he starts to speak.

"You're world has gotten much bigger recently, hasn't it, Miss Stark. You're beginning to realize just how dangerous life can be, how many twists and turns can be thrown your way when you least expect it. Your grandfather was one of the founding members of SHIELD. He, along with others, wanted to create something that would help keep the world safe from threats the civilian world just isn't quite ready to see yet. Both you and your father have become part of something much bigger than either of you realized."

He turns around to face me. His face is stern, serious, and it feels like he's staring right into my soul. Every inch of him screamed authority.

"Who are you?"

"Nick Fury. Director of SHIELD. I was the one who agreed to your father's demands to release you after the incident at Stark Industries. I knew I would probably regret it later, but I figured you're young. Young people are always the most quick to adapt in times of change. I sent one of my agents to keep an eye on both you and your father for various reasons. According to her, you still have no control over your abilities. Yet, you managed to take out a section of the Grand Prix track in Monaco, nearly killing yourself in the process. You have more power than you think, Miss Stark. And that fact alone is going to make it very hard for me to let you walk out of here a second time. He sits down, motioning for me to sit as well. "But, since you have yet to show yourself as an imminent threat, I can't force you to stay here. I can, however, give you a couple of options."

"And what are those, sir?"

He smirks. "You're different than your father."

"Yeah, I tend to have a more realistic view on life."

He nods. "Good. Maybe that will help you in making your decision. Stark Industries recently purchased an empty plot of land in Manhattan near the empire state building. They're looking to build an extension of Stark Industries in New York City. No doubt your father is going to be spending much of his time there while it's built and everything is settled. We have a training facility upstate that I'm offering you a place at. A chance to learn more about your abilities and how to gain control over them. You'll be subject to a few initial tests to gain a better understanding of your abilities, though nothing invasive. You'll stay there until you have been deemed safe enough to return to everyday life."

"And the second option?"

"You'll be released to your father and return to your normal life under the stipulation that if something like what happened in Monaco happens again, outside of your life being in immediate danger, you will be taken to the training facility and you will remain there until I deem it is safe enough for you to return to normal life."

I think about it for a moment, my brain reeling. Go to a training facility and learn how to use my powers, or go back to normal life and avoid using them, otherwise I'd be going to the facility anyways. I didn't have any control, and they were offering to help me gain that control.

"Your father has arrived. If you wish to discuss it with him I will allow you to do that."

I nod. "I...I think I want to do that."

Director Fury nods. "Very well. I will bring him up here and you may talk to him about your decision." He stands up. "You are an adult now, Zinnia. You are allowed to make your own decisions."

Director Fury leaves the conference room, going to get my father. He's right. I am an adult. I would have to leave my dad eventually, and he wasn't exactly helping with my powers. In all honesty, I didn't want to see my dad. I was still upset over what had happened at the hospital in Monaco and at his birthday party. But I knew if I didn't at least tell him what I was going to do, he'd never forgive me. All I have to do now is figure out what it is that I'm going to do.


	21. A New Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zinnia makes a decision. Tony learns his actions have consequences he's not happy about.

My dad hugs me as soon as he's in the room. It takes me by surprise, considering the last time we had seen each other. I don't know if he remembers the night of his birthday party or if this is because he was worried about me disappearing on him. I don't know if he even knows what happened after the party.

"Zinnia…" He sounds so broken, but I can't bring myself to pity him. Sure he was drunk, but I wasn't about to use that as an excuse.

"Do you even remember?" I let him go, taking a step back. "Or were you too drunk?"

I can see the pain on his face, the wince at the mention of his birthday. "I'd rather not relive that night. You weren't the only person that I hurt that night."

"Oh really? That's shocking."

I can tell he wants to say something smart back, but he doesn't thankfully. "Vanko is dead."

"I know. I was told."

He gulps, looking around the room. "Look, Zinnia-"

"Don't. I don't want your apologies. I've learned not to take them seriously. I can't even take you seriously anymore. First you yell at me for trying to save your life, say you should have left me with SHIELD and then turn around and force me to use my powers because you were too drunk to know what was going on? What if I had hurt someone? I could have killed someone! I could have died! God, you're just so…." I wipe the stray tear off my cheek. "I thought you had changed. I thought you cared."

"I do care! So I made a few mistakes over the past couple weeks but they haven't exactly been easy weeks for me!"

"You could have said something! You could have told me what was going on! But once again you cut me off and treated me like shit! And you want to talk about having hard weeks? I was kidnapped twice, given powers I never asked for that I can't even control and everyone and their dog is out to get me because you decided to stop making weapons and become a superhero! I got the short end of the stick on this one because they all want to use me to get to you!"

"Zinny.."

"No. I'm not done. You've done nothing but put me in dangerous situations since I was little."

"I've been trying to keep you safe!"

"Look at how well you've done!" I'm screaming at him now. "Look at how many times I was stuck with a drunk dad who couldn't even take care of himself! I was kidnapped too in Afghanistan and held captive for three months, then kidnapped again six months later and given powers that have done nothing but destroy us! Then, you go off and decide to race in the Grand Prix yourself, only to get almost killed by a man out for vengeance. What happens next? You get so mad at me for saving your life that you almost send me away for using my powers, then turn around and get so drunk at your birthday that you encourage me to use my powers and possibly get other people hurt! I almost died using my powers in Monaco. I could have easily died using them at your party. Then, I get kidnapped by your crazy rival, get handed off to the man that wanted to kill you and get a bomb strapped to my chest." I can tell by the look on his face that he hadn't been told about that part. But I'm too much on a role to stop now. "If it wasn't for your new assistant, who happens to be a SHIELD agent, we wouldn't be standing here having this conversation. So you want to talk about the past weeks being difficult? You want to try and say you were keeping me safe? I don't see any right for you to make those claims."

He's quiet and I think for the first time in his life, Tony Stark is speechless.

"You don't even know what it's like being afraid to be in a room with someone because you could lose control and hurt them."

"But you never did hurt anyone."

"That's not the point! I'm done being afraid. I'm done being out of control. SHIELD offered to let me stay with them and train, and you know what? I'm taking that option."

"No. Absolutely not."

I can't help but laugh at the irony of it all. "See? There you go again! You just can't make up your mind, can you?"

"You're my daughter. Yo belong back home with me. I refuse to let you go."

"You can't make choices for me anymore."

"You're still my daughter. I know what's best for you."

"No, dad, you don't." I can feel the emotions swirling around in my head, and I start to get nervous.

"You wanted to be home with me so that's where you're going."

"Dad-"

"You think SHIELD is going to help you? You can get better help at home."

"Would you just listen!" He goes silent and I'm shocked I don't hear anything breaking. "Dad, I'm an adult now. I know you think you know what's best for me, but it's too dangerous for me to stay at home. I need to start making my own decisions and SHIELD can help me better than you can. You tried to help me and you couldn't and look where we are now. You were too busy being Iron Man to help me. SHIELD has the resources to help me learn more about my abilities. I love you, dad, but I can't live in fear anymore. It's better if you just stay away until I can control my powers enough that I'm not afraid anymore."

He's silent for a moment and I wait for the explosion, the disagreement, the demand for me to return home, but it never comes. Instead, he surprises me. "Fine. Maybe you're right. Stay with SHIELD. Get help. But you know I'll always be there if you need me."

He looks down at me and I can tell he wants to say more, but he doesn't. Instead, he turns on his heel and leaves the room. I know he's not good at goodbye's. I try not to take it personally, let it upset me. But I can't help the nerves that are riding over the other emotions currently smacking me in the face.

I'm alone for a few moments before Director Fury comes back in. I wonder if I made the right choice, if SHIELD really can help me. I knew there were ulterior motives behind it all, I mean, they are a government agency. But I had to trust that it was nothing bad.

"So. You decided to stay."

I nod, trying to fight the urge to cry. "Yes, sir."

"Good. You'll stay here for the rest of the night and head out in the morning for the training facility." He gives me a look I can't read. "It may not feel like it, but you made the right choice. Making decisions as an adult is one of the hardest things you'll ever have to do. But I can reassure you, you made the right one here."

I can only hope he's right.

Spending the night in a SHIELD facility warranted very little sleep on my end. I was nervous about being away from my dad for the first time in a situation where I was also going to be away from home. But I also knew it was going to be good for my dad and I to have a little space from each other. Things had obviously happened that I was unaware of, and it had caused an unintentional rift. Space would be good for us. Or I could hope it would be. I didn't know when I'd see him again, or if I'd see him again. His superhero status made the "if" part a possibility.

The thoughts kept coming all night, making sleep a foreign thing to me. That, and I had spent a whole week sleeping. That probably had something to do with it too. I knew tomorrow would be a long day and I would regret not getting more sleep, but I would just have to tough it out. I'm on my own now.

I'm woken early in the morning by a female agent who offers me breakfast. I'm grateful for the food, not sure how long it had been since I'd eaten. She explains what's going to happen once we get to the facility. The intake process would be shorter for me, since I was already in their system from my stay in their facility in California. I would have to give a fresh blood sample and a routine drug test though. After those go through which wouldn't take very long, I would be given a tour of the facility before meeting with the head of the science division at the facility for some tests regarding my powers so they could get a better understanding of them. There would be a break for lunch, depending on how long the tests take. Then afterwards I would be shown to my living quarters and given a basic schedule that I would follow until otherwise told. Getting used to a schedule was going to be difficult. I was used to just rolling with the punches.

I'm given a change of clothes after I finish eating and I'm lead to a shower area to get cleaned up. It feels nice, taking a warm shower after a few days. It gives me time to think too. There was no going back now. My dad was probably back in Malibu now, going on with his life, planning Stark Tower while I was going to powered people boot camp. Not that I wasn't excited to learn more about my powers. I was more nervous about going new places. Normally I wasn't nervous, as I'd been on almost every continent once in my life. But my dad had always been there with me. This was the first time I'd be doing something new without him there. My feelings were conflicted. I knew I needed to grow up and get out on my own. Start living my own life. But my dad had always been there for everything. Now I was doing this alone and the thought terrified me. I knew this was going to be good for me, but at the same time I was scared. This was certainly going to be an interesting experience.


	22. Two Years Later

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Timeskip to Avengers. Zinny's been training for two years and Tony's been busy.

The past two years had been difficult. SHIELD training was intense and for the first few months, I spent my free time sleeping. Using my powers more than I ever had before sucked the energy right out of me. The first week was rough, adjusting to a schedule. Morning workouts, eating at specific times, training with my powers. It had taken some getting used to.

There were six of us in the group, all of us enhanced people. The two veterans had been the reason for the program's startup and they had been training there for a year. The other three had come in late: seven months, four months, two months. And then there was me. The newby. They were all nice people, very helpful while I figured things out and adjusted to my new life. They all knew who I was. There were TV's in the rec room that constantly played the news. They all said it was only a matter of time before I showed up there after the stint in Monaco. There were two places powered people went. The facility was one. The other...well, it wasn't so nice.

The six of us did everything together. Morning workouts, eating, even our recreation time was the same. But we all trained our powers separately. Apparently that didn't used to be the case, but after an unfortunate mishap, they had split everyone up to train separately. I was happy about that. A year in and I still had very little control over them. I no longer made things explode when I got emotional, but try to make me use them anytime else and it was a crapshoot. Apparently influxes in my emotions made my powers less stable, as they affected the part of my brain that was in control of my powers. I just had to separate my emotions from my powers and I could maybe have control. Maybe. That was if I could actually manage to separate them. So far I had no luck.

As the two years went on, the two veterans left, having successfully gained control over their powers. No one said anything about where they were going or what was going to happen to them, which didn't make me feel better about being there. We got a few new recruits in, some of them with even less control that me. One kid's nose would catch on fire whenever he lost control of his emotions. I guess making things explode wasn't that bad.

Being away from my dad for two years was hard. I missed him. I was still upset at him, partly because of the way things ended between us. SHIELD had given me opportunities to contact him, but I had backed out. The news gave updates on his doings, saving the day a few times, building Stark Tower. Apparently he was also in a relationship with Pepper finally. I was happy for them. I didn't want to risk messing things up by going back and causing more rifts. I needed to focus on my powers if I was ever going to leave, and talking to my dad would only break what little focus I had.

It was nearing the two year mark for me when things started going downhill. Apparently one of SHIELD's top secret projects went belly up and caused a man to come out of a portal. He had attacked SHIELD agents and taken a few hostage with him and escaped with a very important artifact that SHIELD had been working with. They didn't tell us any of this, I had just happened to overhear a few agents talking about it in passing. I didn't know if it was just gossip or if it was the truth, but I had also overheard someone talking about SHIELD finally enacting the Avengers Initiative. I didn't know what that was, but whatever was happening, it was serious.

It became more serious when the helicopter came for me. It was the middle of the day and I had been in the middle of training when the agents came for me. I was terrified for a moment, so terrified I made the shield I had been working with explode finally. I thought maybe I had done something wrong, or something had happened to my dad. Apparently Director Fury had requested my presence specifically. I didn't know why, but I had a feeling it wasn't going to be good.

3RD POV

The past two years had been quiet for Tony. Or, as quiet as things could be for him. He'd still saved the day a handful of times, but most of his efforts went towards his new relationship with Pepper, and building the tower. It was his biggest project since he built the Iron Man suit. He still made upgrades to the suit, improving things, but the tower took most of his focus for a while. He buried himself in the work, getting it built in record time.

In truth, he buried himself because he missed his daughter. She had been adamant on staying with SHIELD and learning how to use her powers. He couldn't blame her for wanting that. She needed control and as much as he hated to admit it, Tony couldn't help her with this one. Sometimes he wondered if he made the right choice, letting her go. Pepper told him he'd have to let go eventually. She was 21 now, and she deserved a shot at making her own life. If things didn't work out, he could still be there to catch her if she fell. He promised himself that. But he hadn't heard from her since he left her at the SHIELD facility in New York.

He got his hopes up when Agent Coulson came to drop off an assignment for him. Fury had talked about putting together a team, and there was a chance it would be happening. SHIELD's super secret project with the Tesseract that his father had pulled out of the ocean searching for Steve Rogers had gone up in flames when a figure named Loki came through a portal and stole it, along with a few SHIELD employees. Fury wanted him to look over Dr. Selvig's notes and consider the possibility of joining the team.

He wound up going to Germany to stop Loki, meeting a newly thawed out Steve Rogers and Loki's brother Thor in the process, along with a couple familiar faces. He tried to tell himself that he was having wishful thinking when he looked for his daughter's face in the slew of agents on the helicarrier. A part of him hoped she'd be there, and another part of him hoped SHIELD would keep her safe somewhere. Maybe after all of this got sorted out, he'd talk to Fury about seeing her.

Turns out that would happen sooner rather than later. Fury had mentioned her joining them as they all gathered on the bridge of the helicarrier. He didn't quite know how to feel about seeing her again, given how things had ended between them. He had to assume she had been doing well. SHIELD hadn't knocked on his door to tell him otherwise. He hadn't heard from her in two years. He didn't know if SHIELD had forbidden her from reaching out, or if it had been her own choice to keep from contacting him.

He didn't blame her for leaving. He had been a terrible father and hadn't even been able to confide in her about his imminent death. Thankfully he had found a cure just in time, but he could have handled the situation better. He wondered about how she was doing, if SHIELD was taking care of her. He wondered if she was doing better, if she had control yet.

He didn't know what to expect when she walked onto the bridge of the helicarrier. He had been hesitant when Fury said she was going to be part of their little gang, but he didn't have a say in that anymore. SHIELD practically owned her now, and she would go where they sent her.

She looked fantastic. She was leaner than he remembered. She had always favored curves over being stick thin, something her mother would have agreed with. She still had her curves, but now he could see the strength in her limbs. She held herself taller now, an air of confidence around her. She had always been confident, she is a Stark after all. But now he could see the confidence. The way she walked, the way she held herself. He wondered if that's what he looked like all the time.

Tony was refreshed to see her looking so good. His little caterpillar had blossomed into a gorgeous butterfly. He had tried so hard to hold on to his little girl, keep her as young as possible. But now that she'd had the opportunity to grow on her own, he saw his mistakes. How he had hindered her by trying to keep her with him.

Fury introduces her to the others and she finally looks at him. Her face was thinner than he remembered it being. She had always kept those round cheeks she'd had as a little girl. But now she looked older. Like the twenty-one year old she was. He can't read the look on her face as she stares at him, something he didn't like. He was always able to read Zinny. She wore everything on her sleeve, and he could almost pinpoint what she was feeling when he tried. But now...she was blank to him. The same blank face that all SHIELD agents wore. She really had changed. He just hoped it was worth it.


	23. Family Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zinny and Tony talk. Steve finally makes his entrance.

I wasn't ready to see my dad again. Two years was a long time and I didn't know what to say to him. I had an inkling that he would be there, seeing as he had dealings with SHIELD in the past and he was kind of a genius. But it hadn't hit me that I'd really be seeing him again. He looked good, no visible problems that I could see. That was refreshing. He had a mix of emotions on his face, and I knew we were going to have to talk.

Director Fury tells me to go with my dad and Dr. Banner to the labs, as that was where most of my expertise would be. I didn't know how much expertise I could offer in genius central, but I had an inkling he was giving me time to talk to my dad and be with him before stuff goes down. The Agents that had picked me up at the facility had filled me in what was happening, giving me a chance to fill in the details from my eavesdropping. I had been right. Something bad was happening.

My dad turns to me as soon as we get into the lab. I haven't prepared myself for what I was going to say to him. I didn't even know where to begin. Thankfully he did. He pulls me into a hug before I can say anything. NOt one of those chintzy half hugs shared between friends. This was a real hug, like one shared between a father and a daughter who hadn't seen each other in two years. He envelops me in his arms, holding me against his chest as he leans his chin on my head like he used to when I had nightmares and he was capacitated enough to comfort me. It's nice and welcoming and I suddenly realize how much I had missed him.

"Hi dad." I say, wrapping my arms around him tightly. He still smells like my mom's favorite cologne.

"Hi Zinny." I can feel him smile and he takes a deep breath. I probably smelled like generic soap and shampoo. Nothing like my normal scent.

"I missed you." He says it first, refusing to let me go.

I don't mind, letting him hold me. "I missed you too."

He holds me for a while longer, just content to stand there and take me in. Finally he lets me go, moving me over to a table where some of his equipment is laid out.

"Tell me all about your stay with SHIELD."

I tell him while he works, setting everything up while I talk. I tell him about my minimal control, but it's more than I had before, and the other training I had received. He listens while he works, and I know for sure he's listening this time around. It's refreshing to see a shide of him I hadn't ever seen before. Maybe it was being away for so long or his new relationship with Pepper, or all of the above. Something had definitely changed in him for the better.

I watch him as he works, hacking into SHIELD's system using JARVIS. I was impressed, but also slightly concerned. Not that my dad would ever get in trouble for anything. He always had a way out.

My dad talks to Dr. Banner as the scan runs in the background, inviting him to visit Stark Tower, but given Dr. Banner's previous experience in New York, that wasn't likely to happen. I don't miss my dad shocking Dr. Banner with a small electric shock. Dr. Banner jumps, my dad obviously watching for any sign of the Hulk. It wasn't funny, but I knew my dad well enough not to get upset my it. Other people however, not so much.

"Hey! Are you nuts?" Captain America himself walks into the lab, dressed in the most spangly outfit I've ever seen.

I had been told he was back, thawed out and still alive. I'd seen him on the bridge, all serious and vintage looking. I mean, he wasn't bad looking my any means and as ridiculous as that suit was, it did shoe off his muscles nicely. I hadn't missed the way he looked at me on the bridge either. He had known my grandfather and I had been told on several occasions I resemble his side of the family the most. Captain Rogers though had looked like he'd seen a ghost. But now he doesn't pay any attention to me as he walks into the lab.

"Jury's out." My dad says, grabbing a packet of food. "You really have "You really have a lid on it, don't you? What's your secret? Mellow jazz, bongo drums, huge bag of weed?"

"Is everything a joke to you?" Captain Rogers asks my dad.

"Funny things are."

"Threatening the safety of everyone on this ship isn't funny. No offense, Doc."

I can feel the tension rising in the room so I make my way over to the three men, ready to diffuse the situation if I needed.

"It's alright. I wouldn't have come aboard if I couldn't handle pointy things." Dr. Banner says.

I feel Captain Rogers' eyes on me momentarily as I move to stand next to my dad.

"And you need to focus on the problem, Mr. Stark."

"Do you think I'm not?"

I feel a sharp pinch on my side and I jump, turning and smacking my dad's arm. Miraculously, nothing explodes. See? I did have some control.

"Why did Fury call us in?" My dad continues, popping dried blueberries as he goes. "Why now? Why not before? What isn't he telling us. I can't do the equation unless I have all the variables."

"You think Fury's hiding something?" Captain Rogers asks. Apparently government corruption was a new concept to him.

"He's a spy. Captain, he's 'the' spy. His secrets have secrets. It's bugging him too, isn't it?"My dad turns to Dr. Banner and I can see he's not thrilled about suddenly having the spotlight on him.

We all looked to Dr. Banner. "Uh...I just want to finish my work here, and..."

"Doctor?" Captain Rogers tries to goad him on.

Dr. Banner sighs, looking up from his work."'A warm light for all mankind.' Loki's jab at Fury about the cube."

"I heard it." Captain Rogers says.

"I think it was meant for you." Dr. Banner points to my dad. My dad, in turn, holds out the bag of blueberries to Dr. Banner. "Even if Barton didn't tell Loki about the tower, it was still all over the news."

"The Stark Tower? That big ugly...building in New York?" My dad gives Captain Rogers an insulted look, making me have to hold in a laugh.

"It's powered by an arc reactor, a self-sustaining energy source. That building will run itself for what, a year?" Dr. Banner continues.

"It's just the prototype. I'm kind of the only name in clean energy right now. That's what he's getting at." My dad says.

"So why didn't SHIELD bring him in on the Tesseract project?" Dr. Banner asks.

"What is an intelligence agency doing in the energy business in the first place?" I say, and I'm pretty sure the three men in the room forgot I was there until now.

My dad holds the blueberries out to me and I gladly take some. "I should probably look into that once my decryption program finished breaking into all of SHIELD's secure files."

"I'm sorry. Did you say..." Captain Rogers looks so confused I almost feel bad for him.

"Jarvis has been running it since I hit the bridge. In a few hours I'll know every dirty secret SHIELD has to hide." He holds the blueberries out to Captain Rogers. "Blueberry?"

Captain Rogers' face is hard to read. "Yet you're confused about why they don't want you around."

"An intelligence organization that fears intelligence. Historically, not awesome."

"I think Loki's trying to wind us up. This is a man who means to start a war, and if we don't stay focused, he'll succeed. We have orders. We should follow them." Captain Rogers says.

"Here we go." I say under my breath, earning a look from Dr. Banner.

"Following's not really my style." My dad says, which is totally true.

"You're all about style, aren't you." Captain Rogers smirks a little adn I can tell this isn't going to end well.

"Of the people in this room, which one is A. wearing a spangly outfit and B. not of use?" Captain Rogers' face falls a little, and I can tell he's trying not to let my dad's words bother him.

"Steve, tell me none of this smells a little funky to you." Dr. Banner says, trying to diffuse the obvious tension between the two.

Captain Rogers looks to Dr. Banner, then my dad. "Just find the cube." He turns and leaves the lab.

I watch Captain Rogers leave, feeling slightly bad. The poor guy had woken up almost 70 years in the future and then immediately gets thrown into a war. Not to mention he had to put up with my dad. I knew my dad held some resentment towards Captain Rogers. I had heard the stories numerous times about my grandpa spending his life looking for Captain America, talking about Captain America. I knew my dad always felt like his dad loved Cap more than he loved his own son. I couldn't blame him for the resentment, but now wasn't exactly the time for this. Now I understood why Fury had called me in.


	24. Tensions Rise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tensions rise between the team members. Zinnia has to get between Tony and Steve to stop a fight happening.

I had seen the old USSR copies of the "Captain America" videos. My dad had copies somewhere of them, and back when I was in private school, we had an entire unit on Captain America and how he helped change the course of World War II. That day at lunch, all of the boys had used their plates as shields as they lobbed food at each other. A lot of the girls had gushed about how handsome he was. I hadn't been all that impressed. I knew what he had done for the war was heroic and he had saved a lot of lives. But I also knew how much had been put on the line to make him a super soldier. I also knew how much he had ruined my dad's life. So maybe I was biased, but after seeing him for five minutes, I wasn't impressed.

I watch JARVIS' progress on cracking SHIELD's firewall. It's an impressive beast. Sure, I had been tempted to try at the facility, but I wouldn't have gotten very far. Computer hacking wasn't my specialty.

My dad and Dr. Banner are having a total bromance moment while talking about the Hulk. I could sympathize with Dr. banner. I knew what it was like to always be afraid of your powers. To fear losing control every second. Granted, I just made things explode. I didn't turn into a giant green rage monster that destroyed everything in his path.

JARVIS continues to break through SHIELD's firewall and I know it's only a matter of time until they notice. Sure, my dad had once hacked into the Pentagon on a dare in college, but SHIELD was more closely guarded. Though, I had a feeling it would be easier for him to get out of this one.

I get my answer as Director Fury comes into the lab. Dr. Banner had the search for the cube running now adn all we had to do was wait. So, in the meantime, we were looking through SHIELD files. Something that obviously hadn't gone unnoticed.

"What are you doing, Mr. Stark?" Fury comes into the lab, looking like a teacher fed up with the trouble student's behavior. Really wasn't all that far off.

"Uh, kind of been wondering the same thing about you." My dad says, looking through more files.

"You're supposed to be looking for the Tesseract."

"We are." Dr. Banner says. "The model's locked and we're sweeping for the signature now. When we get a hit, we'll have the location within half a mile."

"Yeah, then you get your cube back. No muss, no fuss." The screen beeps, a folder popping up. "What is 'Phase 2?'"

Captain Rogers appears out of nowhere, tossing a nasty looking weapon on a metal table. It clangs so loud I jump. But then again, being so close to Loki's scepter had made me jumpy. I don't know if anyone else could feel it, but i could sense the raw power, the energy pulling me in and pushing me away at the same time, threatening to shred what little control I had. That's why I had chosen to stand so my dad was between the scepter and me. That way, if I completely lost it, he had a chance of stopping me.

An image pops up on screen in front of my dad, a blueprint for a weapon. Exactly what Captain Rogers had been saying. The lab door opens, Natasha and the new blonde wall of muscle I had seen on the bridge, I think his name is Thor, walks in.

"Did you know about this?" Dr. Banner asks Natasha.

"You want to think about removing yourself from this environment, Doctor?" Natasha asks, looking at Dr. Banner.

"I was in Calcutta. I was pretty well removed." He says.

"Loki is manipulating you."

"And you've been doing what, exactly?"

"You didn't come here because I bat my eyelashes at you." Natasha says.

"Yes, and I'm not leaving because suddenly you get a little twitchy. I'd like to know why SHIELD is using the Tesseract to build weapons of mass destruction."

"Because of him." Director Fury points at Thor.

"Me?" Thor asks, rather confused.

"Last year, Earth had a visitor from another planet who had a grudge match that leveled a small town. We learned that not only are we not alone, but we are hopelessly, hilariously outgunned." Director Fury says.

"My people want nothing but peace with your planet."

"But you're not the only people out there, are you? And you're not the only threat. The world's filling up with people who can't be matched, that can't be controlled."

"Like you controlled the Cube?" Steve interjects.

"Your work with the Tesseract is what drew Loki to it, and his allies. " Thor says. "It is a signal to all the realms that Earth is ready for a high form of war."

"A higher form? You forced our hand. We had to come up with something-" Fury says, but my dad interrupts him.

"A nuclear deterrent. Because that always calms everything right down."

"Remind me again how you made your fortune, Mr. Stark."

Steve starts moving towards Director Fury. "I'm sure if he still made weapons, Stark would be neck deep-"

"Hold on. How is this now about me?" My dad asks, moving into the circle of people.

"I'm sorry. Isn't everything." Steve says. He was asking for it now.

"I thought humans were more evolved than this." Thor says, setting of several arguments.

I could nearly taste the tension in the room at this point. A buzzing had starting in my ears, growing louder as the arguing intensifies. I was starting to get twitchy, something rising in the room that I can't quite put my finger on. Like...something on a different plane of existence that I just can't quite see. Like when you're in a dark room and you can't shake the feeling that you're not alone, but you can't see anything.

"You speak of control, yet you court chaos." Thor says

"That's his M.O. isn't it? I mean, what are we, a team? No, we're a chemical mixture that makes chaos. We're a time bomb." Dr. Banner says.

"You need to step away." Fury says.

"Why shouldn't the guy let off a little steam?"

My dad puts his hand on Steve's shoulder, but Steve pushes it off immediately. "We know damn well why. Back off."

"I'm starting to want you to make me." My dad says, getting closer to Steve.

"Yeah. Big man in a suit of armor." Steve moves around my dad so their face to face. "Take that off, what are you?"

"Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist."

"I know guys with none of that worth ten of you. I've seen the footage. The only thing you really fight for is yourself. You're not the guy to make the sacrifice play, to lay down on a wire and let the other guy crawl over you."

I step between them, forcing them a little further apart, ready to jump in if a fight really does start.

"I think I would just cut the wire." My dad says simply.

"Always a way out. You may not be a threat, but you better stop pretending to be a hero."

I turn towards Captain Rogers, looking up at him. I don't know if it's the tension in the room or the scepter or all of the above, but I finally crack.

"Excuse me? I don't know how much you know about the modern world, Captain, but I think you need to go back and study harder. What you define as a hero was fine back in your day. But my father is just as much of a hero as you were. You fought Nazis, my dad fought terrorists. He's laid down on the proverbial wire more times than you give him credit for. I know. I was there for most of them. Sure my dad has his faults, made plenty of mistakes and poor life choices, but he has sure as hell done his part to make up for those mistakes."

Captain Rogers stares down at me, his face hard and determined. I can feel my dad tensing behind me, ready to shove me out of the way. However, I know Captain Rogers is too old fashioned to hit a woman. But I'm not afraid to mess up his pretty face.

"Well said, Zinny. But I still want to punch him." My dad says. I was ready to let him.

Captain Rogers smirks, his gaze shifting over my head. "Put on the suit. Let's go a few rounds."

I was seriously hating my dad's genes right now.

Thor starts laughing, drawing my gaze to him. "You people are so petty. And tiny."

I point at him, giving him my best "Stark face." "Don't make me come over there, Armored Barbie."

"Yeah. This is a team." Dr. Banner says, looking at us.

"Agent Romanoff, would you escort Dr. Banner back to his..." Director Fury starts, but Dr. Banner interrupts him.

"Where? You rented my room."

"The cell has just in case..."

"In case you needed to kill me. But you can't. I know. I tried. I got low. I didn't see an end. So, I put a bullet in my mouth and the other guy spit it out. So I moved on. I focused on helping other people. I was good. Until you dragged me back into this freak show. And put everyone here at rusk. You want to know my secret, Agent Romanoff? You want to know how I stay calm?"

My dad pushes me behind him, everyone's attention turning to Dr. Banner as the two armed people in the room reach for their weapons.

"Dr. Banner," Steve says. "put down the scepter."

Dr. Banner looks down at the scepter in shock, and I can tell he didn't even know he was holding it. Suddenly the computers start beeping, distracting everyone and Dr. Banner sets the scepter down.

"Got it. Sorry kids, you don't get to see my party trick after all."

"You located the Tesseract?" Thor asks.

"I can get there fastest." My dad says.

"The Tesseract belongs on Asgard. No human is a match for it." Thor argues.

"You're not going alone." Steve grabs my dad's arm, but my dad hits his hand away.

I get in between them again. I was starting to get tired of this.

"You gonna stop me?" My dad asks.

"Put on the suit. Let's find out."

"I'm not afraid to hit an old man."

"Put on the suit."

"Oh my god." I hear Dr. Banner say.

Then everything explodes.

I hit the floor hard, dazed and confused. My ears were ringing again, my brain buzzing with energy and I could hear someone calling my name.

"Zinnia, snap out of it sweetheart. We gotta go."

I'm hauled to my feet, my dad half dragging me out of the lab. Alarms were blaring and there were people running everywhere. I should have been running with them, but I felt drained. For a moment, I panic thinking I'm the one who caused the explosion. But deep down I know I wouldn't have exploded that way if it were me. No, it couldn't have been me.

My dad shoves me into a room, I assume it's his cabin. "Stay here, lock the door. I'll be back when it's safe."

"Dad, I can help."

"No. Stay here." He kisses my head. "I want you safe right now."

He runs off without even a goodbye. I had just gotten him back and now I was at risk of losing him again. I knew I should have listened. I was in no shape to fight. But something was calling me, pulling me in again. Some power was drifting down the hallway, sucking me in like a moth to a flame. I follow it, dodging around running agents, not aware that I'm being led right into a trap.


	25. A New Kind of Control

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zinny gets in over her head and there's consequences. Tony loses his daughter again.

I should have gotten there sooner. I should have known something bad would happen. That sick feeling had been eating away at my stomach since I stepped foot on the helicarrier. But there was nothing I could have done. Coulson was already injured when I got there. Maybe if I had gotten there sooner...but that was a fool's hope. I was quickly going to learn I was out of my league.

I manage to muster a small shockwave, sending it towards Loki, but he deflects it easily. It's then I realize I don't have the power to hold him off. The buzzing in my ears is loudest here, so loud it's nearly impossible to concentrate. I manage to get a protective bubble around myself as the god walks towards me, moving slowly. We both know he's the stronger of the two in this situation. Even if I could muster a shockwave strong enough to knock him over I would risk knocking the helicarrier out of the sky and killing everyone on board. Plus, it would only phase him. I can feel the power radiating off of him, and I try not to let my fear show.

He stops right in front of my bubble, smirking at me. "Such power but yet you fear it. You should accept it."

The tip of his spear is still soaked in blood. Coulson's blood. The thought has my emotions flaring, my bubble wavring.

"You are weak, little lamb."

He touches the tip of his scepter to my bubble and it crumbles like glass. All of my energy is drained and I feel like the wind has been knocked out of me. I fall back against the wall behind me, helpless to his next move. He could easily kill me now.

"Let me show you real control."

The tip of his scepter touches my chest and ice floods through my veins, my whole body going cold as something inside me tells me to sleep. I'm helpless to do anything but listen, my vision going dark.

3RD POV

Tony didn't know whether to be relieved or panicked. His daughter wasn't anywhere on the helicarrier, and the last person who had seen her was dead. He was relieved he didn't find her body anywhere, but that meant Loki had taken her. Loki wouldn't kill her. It was too much of an opportunity. His daughter had power. Not just her abilities, but she was an achilles heel too. He had made impossible promises before when her life was on the line. More than likely he would make them again if it meant saving her. He knew she had gotten off on the wrong foot with Steve, but he wasn't the type to let an innocent girl suffer at the hands of someone like Loki. Tony would do anything to get his daughter back. But right now...he didn't know where to start.

Loki had killed Coulson like it was nothing. One wrong move and his daughter could suffer the same fate. He had just gotten her back and he couldn't lose her now. They had gotten Barton back, the man who had saved his daughter's life once. But they had lost Banner, Thor, the cube, the scepter, Loki and Zinnia. Their odds weren't exactly high right now. But that was always where Tony thrived.

Tony had walked away from Fury's speech. He needed to clear his head. Think about where his daughter could be. If she had still had the phone he'd given her, she could have been traced easily. But that had been left in Malibu when she'd gone missing two years ago, the night of his tragedy of a birthday party back when he was dying.

He doesn't notice Steve had followed him until the Captain speaks. "Was he married?"

"No. There was a cellist, I think." Tony says, recalling his conversation with Coulson the day before when he'd first arrived.

"I'm sorry. He seemed like a good man."

"He was an idiot."

"Why? For believing?"

"For taking on Loki alone. Both him and Zinnia."

"He was doing his job."

Tony scoffs. "He was out of his league. He should have waited. He should have..."

"Sometimes there isn't a way out, Tony." Steve moves closer to the billionaire.

"Right, I've heard that before." Tony made to leave. He needed to find his daughter, but Steve's next words stop him.

"Is this the first time you've lost a soldier?"

"We are not soldiers. I'm not marching to Fury's fife."

"Neither am I. He's got the same blood on his hands that Loki does. But right now we've got to put that behind us and get this done. Now, Loki needs a power source. If we can put together a list..."

"He made it personal."

"That's not the point."

"That is the point. That's Loki's point. He hit us all right where we live. Why?"

"To tear us apart."

"Yeah, divide and conquer is great but he knows he has to take us out to win, right? That's what he wants. He wants to beat us, he wants to be seen doing it. He wants an audience."

"Right. I caught his act in Stuttgart."

"Yeah. That was just the previews. This is opening night. Loki, he's he's a full-tilt diva, right? He wants flowers, he wants parades, he wants act monument built to the skies with his name plastered-" Realization hits Tony like a brick. "Son of a bitch"

Tony works as fast as he can to fix his suit so it's suitable for flight. It had taken damage when he had fixed the helicarrier engine. He didn't know why it had taken him so long to figure it out. Of course Loki would go to the tower. It would give him all the power he needed to use the Tesseract and it gave him a prime vantage point.

He flies out as soon as the suit is ready, still barely held together, but as long as he can get to the tower, he can get a new suit. He doesn't quite know what to expect as he flies towards the tower. He tries not to think about what Loki could have done to her during the time it had taken him to realize where she was and get there.

Loki is standing outside on the tower balcony as Tony lands, the machines coming up to take the armor off him as he walks towards the door. Loki follows, using the door on the other side of the balcony to enter. Tony's eyes scan the room, searching for his daughter. He needs to know she's okay. He feels partly responsible for this. Afterall, every time she'd been kidnapped by a psychopath, it was his own stupidity that had caused it.

"Please tell me you're going to appeal to my humanity." Loki says, snapping him out of his search.

"Actually, I'm planning to threaten you." He forces himself to stay calm, putting on his usual Stark nonchalant attitude as he moves behind the bar.

"You should have left your armor on for that."

"Yeah. It's see a bit of mileage and you've got the glow stick of destiny. Would you like a drink?"

"Stalling me won't change anything."

"No, no. Threatening. No drink? Are you sure? I'm having one."

"The Chitauri are coming. Nothing can change that. What have I to fear?"

"The Avengers." Tony says, pouring himself a drink. "That's what we call ourselves. We're sort of like a team. 'Earth's mightiest heroes' type thing."

"Yes, I've met them."

"Yeah. Takes us a while to get any traction, I'll give you that one. But let's do a headcount here. Your brother, the demigod, a super soldier, a living legend, who kind of lives up to the legend. A man with breathtaking anger management issue, a couple of master assassins, and you, big fella, you've managed to piss off every single one of them."

"That was the plan."

"Not a great plan. When they come, and they will, they'll come for you." Tony moves from behind the bar.

"I have an army."

"We have a hulk."

"I thought the beast had wandered off."

"You're missing the point. There is no throne. There is no version of this where you come out on top. Maybe your army comes and maybe it's too much for us, but it's all on you. Because if we can't protect Earth, you can be damn well sure we'll avenge it." Tony moves closer to the god as he speaks. He still didn't see his daughter.

"How will your friends have time for me, when they're so busy fighting you?"

Loki touches his scepter to Tony's chest, but the reactor keeps it from doing any harm.

"This usually works."

"Well, performance issues, it's not uncommon. One out of five-" Loki grabs Tony by the throat, tossing him to the floor. "JARVIS, anytime now." He says, standing back up.

Loki smirks down at Tony. "If I can't use you, then I'll use her."

His daughter walks forward, tall and confident as ever, but her normally dark chocolate eyes are bright blue. He doesn't have time to check her over for injuries before he's grabbed again by Loki and dragged over towards the windows.

"You will all fall before me."

"Deploy!" Tony yells before Loki throws him out the window.

Tony wasn't usually scared of falling from heights because he was normally wearing his suit. He didn't know if this would even work, and if it was, his suit was taking its time. Finally it locks on to the tracker he'd put on when he entered the tower, the suit forming around him seconds before he hits the ground. He scares some civilians as the thrusters fire off and he shoots back into the sky, flying back up to the broken window.

"And there's one other person you pissed off. His name was Phil." Tony blasts Loki back, feeling great until a portal opens above the tower, aliens coming through. Of course. What else?

Inside Zinnia helps the God of Mischief to his feet, Loki unphased by the blast from Tony's suit.

"Orders, sir?"

"Stay here with me. We will watch the world fall together." Loki says.

Zinny follows Loki outside as the Chitauri fly down from the portal, starting to move through the city. Thor lands on the deck below Loki a few minutes later. Zinnia starts to move towards him, but Loki stops her.

"Loki!" The God of Thunder yells up at his brother. "Turn off the Tesseract or I'll destroy it."

"You can't. There is no stopping it. There is only the war."

"So be it."

Loki jumps down, attacking his brother. One of SHIELD's jets flies around to Stark Tower, trying to get a shot at Loki. Zinny looks to the preoccupied Loki before sending a shockwave towards the jet, shredding one of the jet's wings causing it to spiral to the ground below.

"Look at this!" Thor yelled as he has Loki pinned. "Look around you! You think this madness will end with your rule?"

"It's too late. It's too late to stop it."

"No. We can, together."

Loki pauses, looking at Thor before stabbing him in the side. "Sentiment." He scoffs before Thor starts fighting him again, tossing him on to the deck from over his head.

Loki rolls over the side, landing on one of the Chitauri's flying chariots. Zinny glances at the God of Thunder before jumping as well.

Their brigade shot at cars, sending debris flying and people running for cover. Loki watches as one of the Leviathans is destroyed, the Chitauri screeching in anger.

"Send the rest." Several more Chitauri and Leviathans come through the portal. Loki turns to Zinnia. "Find the others. Start with the Captain."


	26. Lost Dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zinny finds some lost dreams and meets someone special. Tony makes a sacrifice play

I don't know where I am, but it's definitely Earth. It's too dark and the stars are so close I feel like I could just reach up and touch them. I knew I had to be dreaming. I try to remember what was happening, how I had gotten here, but I can't. Deep down I know I should be fighting, trying to figure a way out, but for now I'm content to stay.

I'm standing in what I think is a crater, the ridges lifting into the sky in the distance. There's various debris around me: metal chunks, torn fabric, other various items. It's all half buried in dirt, and it all looks like its been there for a while. I start to walk through the debris, looking at everything as I pass it, moving towards the rim of the crater. Maybe if I can get to a high point, I can get a better sense of where I am. My boots sink into the soft dirt, a slight wind whipping around me. The air smells like hot metal and ozone. I wonder if I'm dying from breathing this air in. I didn't feel like it though. I feel fine.

I make my way through the junkyard, only to spot something familiar. I hurry towards it, pulling the small stuffed bear out of the dirt. It's worn and dirty, missing an eye and its ear is torn. It almost looks like…

"Your grandfather gave that to you, you know?"

I jump in surprise, thinking I had been alone. I turn around, a woman dressed in a white gown a few feet away from me. She smiles warmly at me, and I can't shake the feeling I know her.

"Oh Zinnia. You've grown to be so beautiful."

I scan through my foggy memories, trying to pull something up. A face or a name or even a place I had seen her before. She was so familiar I knew I had to have seen her somewhere. My brain is reeling too quickly though, and I can't get a snippet of any memory.

"I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you. I knew it would happen eventually. I should have never left that day. I should have stayed. I tried to fight it, but I wasn't strong enough."

Then it hits me. The photo my dad keeps on his desk at work. The same dark hair and bright smile, kind eyes and freckles across her nose. I feel my heart clench in my chest, the reality like a punch to my stomach and I nearly choke on tears as I look at her.

"Mom?"

She smiles at me, the same smile I had seen so many times in that photograph. It was the only picture I had ever seen of her, the only one my dad had visible. I knew there were more, but I never pushed him to talk about her. He always got that sad look in his eyes when my mother got brought up. Whether intentionally or not, he always seemed to go to a different place when you mentioned her. And now she was in front of me.

"Hi baby." She takes a step closer to me. "You look so much like your father. So beautiful."

I can hardly believe it. She had been dead for twenty-one years and yet she was standing right in front of me. I didn't know what to think. I knew I was still dreaming, but it all felt so real. The bear in my hands, the smell in the air, the wind hitting my back. I look down at the bear, the one I had carried around with me everywhere I went, that had survived more horrors than I had.

"How...how is this possible? I lost this bear when I was 8 on a trip to Paris. My dad said he'd buy me a new one but I had already forgotten by the time we got home."

My mother looks around at all of the debris on the ground. "This is a place of lost hopes and dreams. Abandoned projects, failed attempts, childhood dreams and aspirations. All of them come here and stay forever unless they get reawoken or let go of forever.

I frown, looking at her. "But you…"

She looks around the crater. I follow her gaze, suddenly seeing hundreds of other figures in white, their forms flickering between solid and transparent. They wander around aimlessly, looking at the debris of people's lost hopes and dreams. Even as I look back at my mother I can see her own form flickering. Now that I understand where I am, it makes me sad.

"There's a part of your father that still holds on to me. That hope that we once had. That keeps me here, watching new things come every day."

I shake my head, still holding the bear. Part of me didn't want to let it go again. "How did I end up here? Am I dead?"

She shakes her head, smiling at me again. "No. You are very much alive. But you have to get back to where you came from. You still have a lot of work to be done."

I tilt my head as I look at her. "I-I don't understand...how…"

She looks me in the eyes. Her form is more solid now, no longer flickering. "You still have a part to play. Your decisions will tip the scales one way or another. You must choose wisely for the wrong choice could set in motion events that will only lead to destruction." She has a sad look in her eyes as she regards me. "I do not want to meet you here again, for the next time it will be for eternity."

"W-What do you mean?"

"You need to make a choice. You need to save him."

Her hand touches my cheek and for a moment I can feel her, warm and present, her skin soft against my cheek. But then my vision goes dark and I feel like I'm falling, leaving my stomach where I had been moments before. I can hear the rush of something, voices whispering in my ears, but I can't make out what they're saying.

Images begin to flash before my eyes, memories of the past. I watch them all flash in front of me, helpless to do anything. Things start to shift, images of more recent events. The helicarrier, the argument in the lab, Loki and the scepter. Then images I've never seen before flash in front of my eyes. New York in ruins, my dad in his lab back in Malibu surrounded by suits. More suits than he would ever need. The mansion falling off the hillside and into the ocean as someone screams. My dad pouring over something in a lab with Dr. Banner. Part of a city lifting into the air as the rest crumbles around it. My dad and Captain Rogers fighting, throwing punches and repulsor blasts at each other.

My feet hit solid ground, all of the people I care about and those I had just met, some I don't recognize surrounding me. My dad is in front of me, his face frozen in fear. Captain Rogers is next to him, Pepper next to my dad. They all start to fade, their bodies turning into dust, floating away in the wind as everyone surrounding me crumbles. Pain sears through my head and I scream, falling to my knees as the world crumbles around me. The last thing I hear is a voice whispering on the wind.

_"Save him."_

My eyes snap open and I don't know where I am. The pain in my head fades, my breath coming back to me. I realize I'm sitting on someone, my fist raised. I look down, Captain Rogers under me, blood streaked across his face. His hand is holding my fist and I realize I was the cause of that blood. My memories come streaking back, the attack on the helicarrier, my facing Loki and his taking control of me.

But we weren't on the helicarrier anymore. We were in the middle of New York. I look around, trying to get a bearing of where we are. There's a protective bubble around the two of us, the area surrounding us reduced to rubble. I can see beyond the bubble there's people...no, something coming towards us.

"Zinnia?" Captain Rogers asks, releasing my fist.

I look back down at him, and I'm sure I looked like a deer in the headlights. "W-What happened? Where am I?"

Captain Rogers gently pushes me off of him, sitting up. "We're in New York. Loki took you from the helicarrier and had you under his control. He sent you down here to attack us. You came after me first. I tried to hold you off as best I could, but you have a mean swing." He wipes the blood off his face. He's dirty and missing the signature cowl. His suit is torn and he's cut up in a few places.

"O-Oh god...I did that…"

He puts his hand on my shoulder, helping me stand. "It's alright. I've had worse today." He looks at the approaching figures. I don't know what they are, but I'm not keen on finding out. "How long will your shield hold?"

I shake my head. "Not long." It was already starting to waver. I was exhausted and kind of sick.

"Can you hold it long enough to get somewhere safe?"

I nod. "Yeah. But what about you?"

"I'll be fine. I can do this all day. Where will you go?"

I think for a moment, before looking up at the tower. I'd never actually been inside that I remember. "Back to the tower."

"Loki's in there."

"My dad has to have a private elevator. I'll take it and find his lab. Barricade myself inside, use the Baby on Board protocol. Even if Loki can find me, he won't get into the lab. I can link with my dad's suit from there. I promise I'll make him tell you I made it."

Captain Rogers looks super confused but he doesn't ask questions. "Okay. Be careful."

I nod. "I'll try."

Thor lands outside the bubble and I push it out a little to pass over him, letting him inside. He doesn't look any better than Steve.

"Lady Zinnia, welcome back."

I nod. "Good to be back."

"Thor and I will hold them back long enough for you to get through. I'll keep my promise."

Steve nods, giving me a sideways smile. "Alright. Good luck."

I nod, the shield dissipating, the alien creatures instantly firing on us. I form a smaller shield around myself, the aliens focusing on Steve and Thor and I move through the debris in the road, making my way back to the tower. My shield deflects any shots fired at me and I make it back to the tower unharmed, using the front entrance to get inside. There's people gathered inside, taking shelter from the raging battle outside. I weave through them, finding the private elevator at the back of the tower. I can only hope JARVIS was still running, otherwise I'd have to take the stairs. I was not looking forward to that trip.

Thankfully JARVIS is still up and running, letting me into the elevator, closing the doors immediately after I'm inside.

"Miss Stark, good to see you're back."

"Thanks, JARVIS. My dad's lab please."

I collapse against the wall, tired from using my powers so much. I hadn't used them like this since my first days at the training facility when they had done rigorous testing. I was sore, tired and my brain felt like it had been through a blender. All of the images that I'd seen, my mother, the visions she'd shown me, all still fresh in my mind. I didn't know what any of them meant, but I didn't have time for that.

The elevator opens across from my dad's lab and I hurry inside, inacting the Baby on Board protocol. The windows are covered by thick titanium shields, the door being barred shut and it buzzes with electricity. If anyone tried to come in, they'd get shocked to shit.

I make my way over to my dad's computers, patching in to his suit like I'd done before, back when he was saving the world on a small scale. Fighting terrorists in the Middle East, not aliens in New York.

"Dad, do you read me?"

"Zinnia? Thank god. Where are you?" His voice comes through the speaker.

"Barricaded in your lab in the tower. Baby on Board protocol. Good to see you implemented it here too."

"Of course I did. I knew I'd need it someday."

"Dad, could you perchance tell Captain Rogers that I made it safely? I made a promise when I was out there."

I can tell he wants to make a snarky remark, but he doesn't. "Fine. Gimme a sec."

The line goes silent for a moment and I have JARVIS pull up live news feeds and any security cameras that happened to be running in the area. It was a mess out there, and the aliens just kept coming and coming.

"He says he's glad." My dad's voice coming back through the speaker.

I smile a little. "I'm glad that he's glad."

"Hey, none of that goo-goo eyed stuff, he's old enough to be your grandfather."

"Uh, he knew my grandfather."

My dad is silent for a moment. "That's true." He goes to say something else, but his voice gets cut out.

"Dad?"

"Zinny, listen to me, I'm gonna do something probably stupid, but I need you to be brave for me, okay?"

"Dad, what's going on?"

"There's a nuke heading straight for the city. I gotta send it up the portal."

"Dad...you could die!"

"I know. But I can't let this city and everyone in it get destroyed. I love you, Zinny. I'm sorry for everything."

"Dad, you can't! I just got you back!"

"I know. Take care of Pepper for me."

"Dad!"

There's nothing but silence.


	27. The World is Saved

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The battle is over. The Avengers go their separate ways. Zinny makes an offer.

Long story short, my dad makes it out alive. I was in the dark while he fell through at the last second, the Hulk catching him before he can hit the ground. I, of course, found this out afterward when he shut down the Baby on Board protocol and came barging into his lab. I was so overcome with emotions that not only did I shatter every piece of glass in that lab, I also smacked him. Yes, I smacked my father. But he deserved it.

"Yeah, I deserved that." He says, rubbing his cheek.

I can't say anything, just sob while I throw my arms around him. I had been so sure he was gone. JARVIS had lost contact and had no way of reestablishing it. I had been so sure he was really gone. I wasn't ready to face the reality, until that reality got shattered by him walking into the lab. But he's here now. That's what matters.

"Don't ever do that again! I thought you were gone." I sob into his shoulder. He smells like sweat and blood nd the titanium of the suit but I don't care.

He shushes me, gently rubbing my back. "I know. But I wasn't about to let anyone else die."

I hold him for a while longer, SHIELD agents arriving to apprehend Loki and look after everyone's injuries. I wanted to tell my dad about what I'd seen when I was under Loki's mind control but I know now isn't the time. He had just flown into space with a nuke to stop an alien invasion. Telling him about talking to my mom in a world that shouldn't even exist probably would throw him over the edge and might send him into cardiac arrest. Things would have to boil down before I mentioned it to him. And those visions I still didn't understand. The things that I'd seen...my mother telling me to save this mysterious "him" when I didn't know who "him" even is. It could be my dad or someone else for all I knew. Being able to see the future wasn't helping anything. For once I was glad I couldn't see the future.

It takes me a moment to realize my dad had been talking to me. He throws his arm around my shoulders, leading me towards the lab doors.

"How does shawarma sound?"

"I don't know what that is."

"Well, we're all going to go try some. And you're coming too. After I find Banner some clothes."

We make a detour and I get a small tour of the tower, part of which had been destroyed in the battle. It was the first time I had been inside it that I remembered, my dad already talking plans of remodelling to make it Avengers Tower. He grabs some clothes for Dr. Banner before we head back down to what I assume is the main living area/party deck where the rest of the Avengers had assembled. Everyone looked worn out and tired and had various cuts and scrapes patched up. One of the medics wants to check me over, but I assure them I'm fine. There was nothing they could do for the injuries I had. I don't think they have anything to fix emotional trauma in basic medical kits.

My dad makes sure to reintroduce me to everyone on the team while Dr. Banner changes in the bathroom. Both Natasha and Agent Barton greet me, Agent Barton telling me I look better than the last time he saw me. Granted, I was half dead then and surviving something no one who had been tested on before me had survived. I hadn't seen him since that day, and before the helicarrier I hadn't seen Natasha since she'd posed as my dad's new assistant and sent me walking out of Hammer Industries with a bomb in my hands. Captain Rogers was glad to see I was really alright and had made it to the tower in one piece. I was indeed in one piece, but dead tired. Thor is glad to see I'm alright as well, properly introducing himself since we hadn't gotten the chance on the helicarrier. He had shown up rather unexpectedly.

Dr. Banner comes back from the bathroom and we all head out, my dad wrapping his arm around me as we walk to the Shawarma restaurant. It wasn't far from the tower and we maneuver through debris from the attack. It was worse looking at it afterwards. When I had been running through it on the way back to the tower I hadn't paid any attention to just how much had been destroyed. But the streets were empty and silent, strange for downtown Manhattan. It was kind of eerie.

The Shawarma restaurant is open surprisingly, and they let us in, cooking us all as much Shawarma as we want. Steve and Thor push together a couple of tables before we all sit together, quiet while we wait for food. My dad still has his arm around me, holding me close. I could tell he was tired and rattled from what had happened. We all are. A lot of impossible things had happened in a matter of a few hours and they had been on the front lines. I had been on the other side, being mind controlled by a god hell bent on ruling Earth and had seen some pretty impossible things.

I feel eyes on me and I look over, Captain Rogers watching me. His face is focused, but unreadable as he stares at me. As soon as he realizes I'm staring back he blushes a little, looking down. I can't help the small smile that forms on my face. Awfully adorable for a man I had told off hours before and then attacked when I was being mind controlled. I felt for him though, being thrown into the modern world after being asleep for 70 years only to have to turn around and fight invading aliens and save the world.

I wonder what's going to happen now that the world's safe. There's a lot of cleaning and repairs that need to be done. New York wouldn't be the same for a long time, and I knew my dad would jump in head first to help with that. Thor would probably take Loki and Nat and Clint would return to SHIELD. I didn't know if I would be forced to return to SHIELD as well, or if I would be given the option to stay with my dad.

I want to stay with him. I didn't have much control over my powers, but I wanted to stay with my dad. I have so much I need to tell him and I know he's going to need me. Leaving him y, like that two years ago had been a hard decision but it had been good for both of us, but hard at the same time. I wasn't sure if I could leave him again. Not after everything that had just happened.

We head back to the tower after our meal, Director Fury waiting for us there. My dad still hasn't let me go, and I know he's doing it in case I have to leave again. Director Fury makes his way through the team, Thor agreeing to take Loki back to Asgard with the cube the next day, Dr. Banner opting to stay with my dad at the tower. Clint and Natasha are returning to SHIELD to continue their work as Agents, and Captain Rogers is offered a position with SHIELD, but he opts to get more familiarized with the modern world before making that decision. My dad will continue doing what he does, and then it's my turn.

"Part of me knows you're not ready to be out in the world again. That you still don't have enough control for me to trust you." I gulp nervously. "But, given the events that have happened recently and your displays of restraint over the past few days, I have decided to sign your release papers from the training facility."

I can't help but break out into a huge smile. "Thank you, sir. Thank you so much."

"Just don't make me regret my decision."

"Of course not, sir."

My dad pulls me into a hug as Director Fury leaves. Looks like I had gotten my wish and I could stay with him for now. As long as I didn't lose control I was free. God only knows what would happen if I lost control again.

Saying goodbye was surprisingly hard. Of course, if any other large threat decided it wanted to try its hand at taking over Earth we'd be seeing each other again. But hopefully that wouldn't happen. My dad offered them all a place at the tower if they were ever in town and needed a place to stay. He didn't tell them he had designed entire apartments for them, but that was beside the point.

Thor and Loki return to Asgard, Clint and Natasha heading back to SHIELD HQ to do whatever they do wherever they do it. Dr. Banner is already talking science with my dad and we weren't even in the car yet. They were ready to go, but I had one last thing I needed to do.

Captain Rogers was getting ready to go back to his SHIELD apartment to figure out what to do after that. I catch him by surprise. He may have been able to hide a lot of his emotion, but that one I could clearly see.

"Captain Rogers?"

"Ma'am?" He turns around, standing up straight. Always a gentleman.

"Zinnia. But everyone calls me Zinny."

He smiles that ridiculously cute half smile. "Zinny." I like the way my name sounds when it's coming from him. "You can call me Steve."

I grin. "I wanted to say thank you. You helped me realize a lot of things the past couple of days. We didn't exactly get off on the right foot, and I kinda broke your nose, but I hope things get better between us from here."

He smiles. "Well, you certainly proved yourself to be as feisty as your grandfather was. And I can respect a strong woman."

I smile, my cheeks heating up a little. "Such a charmer. Anyways, if you're ever in New York and want to experience some twenty-first century stuff, I'd be more than happy to help."

He smiles at me. "I might have to take you up on that offer."

I have to refrain from squealing excitedly. Yes, he was stubborn and a little old fashioned and had said some things to my dad in the heat of the moment, but I couldn't completely blame him. After everything that had happened to him, no one expected him to be completely okay. Plus, I understood getting frustrated by my dad's behavior. I had been down that road many times.

"Great." I step closer to him, leaning up and kissing his cheek. "You know where to find me."

I can't get the smile off my face as I walk back to my dad's car. I can see him in the side mirror giving me a look, but I don't care. Maybe Steve Rogers wasn't so bad after all.


	28. Moving On

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zinny and Tony try to move on after the events of New York.

It hadn't even been a week and I could already tell my dad was not fine. Every day since the battle I had been asking if he was alright, and every time I asked I got the same answer. "I'm fine." But he wasn't. He was far from fine. Between repairing the tower and deciding to have Stark Industries oversee the cleanup and rebuilding of New York, my dad spent his free time in his lab building things. At first he hadn't let on to what he was doing, and he certainly hadn't let anyone near his lab. I knew he needed time to recover after the battle and flying into space. We all needed some recovery time, but I was worried about him. Things were obviously much worse than he was letting on.

I wasn't doing so great either. After the shock finally wore off, things went downhill for me. The reality of what had happened finally took hold and I began to lose my grip on my sanity. I tried to stay strong for my dad, but sometimes he was the one waking me up because I had been screaming in my sleep. Loki, the visions, my mother all plagued my nightmares. Being in that place with my mother had felt so real, like it was really out there. But my consciousness had been put to sleep by Loki's mind control and I had physically been with him the whole time. My brain tried to process it all, that the place I had met my mother for the first time was a higher plane of consciousness than we existed in and I had been shoved there by an Asgardian god with a mind control fetish. Yeah, you can see how well this is going.

But then maybe I hadn't been just sent there. Maybe something had pulled me there. I had spoken to Agent Barton shortly after the battle and he had said he felt like he was asleep under Loki's control. That didn't make me feel much better. Whatever had happened, how I had gotten to that place, I knew it wasn't an accident. My mother had obviously had a message for me, something that constantly plagued my mind as well.

"Save him."

I don't even know who "him" is, or why he needs saving. Maybe it was about my dad. Maybe she knew what my dad was going to do in the battle and I was supposed to save him. Maybe I was supposed to save him from himself because he was doing an awful lot to lead me to that conclusion. Or maybe "him" was someone else entirely. I don't know. I wish I did because it would be a lot easier on my brain.

A couple of weeks after the battle, my dad finally shows me what he's been doing in the lab, besides avoiding sleep. It's a shock at first, I hadn't expected so many so soon. His lab is halfway full of new Iron Man suits, all varying in size and color. Sure, he had built new suits and replicated a few old original ones, but I had never seen this many before.

"I'd like to introduce you to the Iron Legion." My dad holds his hands out proudly.

He looks tired. I can finally see that night after sleepless night is starting to take its toll on him. I knew Pepper made him sleep when she was here, but she was busy with the press and being CEO.

"The Iron Legion? Why do we need a legion?"

"Because I realized that Iron Man and War Machine aren't enough to face the threats that are out there. The battle was only the beginning. Big things are coming and we're going to need a legion to face them."

"Dad...are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

"You're obviously not! You've built more suits than you ever have before in a matter of weeks! Something is bothering you."

My dad has his back to me but I can already tell the look that's on his face. "I had my eyes opened again. Fighting terrorists and saving planes that are falling out of the sky is good and all, but aliens just invaded New York, being led by a god hellbent on taking over Earth. Things are much bigger out there in the real world. I'm not enough to stop it all."

"No one expects you to stop it all, dad. That's why the Avengers were put together."

"But what if we're not enough either? Six of us were barely enough to contain the Chitauri."

"The battle's over, dad. We won and now it's okay."

He finally turns to me. "Is it okay? I sit there and I watch you toss and turn all night. You wake up screaming from nightmares! I...I can't sleep. Every time I close my eyes...I can't get it out of my head."

I take his hand, squeezing it gently. "Dad, it's okay. We've been through a lot over the past few years. We just need time and you need to get some sleep. You can't keep going like this."

"I know. Maybe we should go back to Malibu soon. Once things get underway with fixing the damage and the tower is finished, we'll go back to California for the holidays. Get away from the source of the nightmares."

I nod. "That sounds like a good idea. Maybe we both need a break from New York." I had hope it would be enough to help.

It wasn't.

It had been seven months since the battle and my dad was still just as bad as he was right after it ended. He still was barely sleeping, barely eating. He spent most of his time down in the lab, working on god knows what. He had been more and more distant and I knew he was still having nightmares and anxiety about what had happened. I knew he was still building suits, as we had brought all of the Iron Legion home with us when we returned to Malibu. I hadn't been in Malibu since the night of my dad's birthday two years ago.

It was weird, going back home. Some of my stuff had been moved to Stark Tower, mostly valuable stuff because I had planned on staying at the tower. But obviously that hadn't been the best option and I had come home for the holidays.

It was getting close to Christmas and the mansion had been elaborately decorated as usual. I hadn't done any Christmas shopping and honestly, I wasn't in the mood. My dad usually left it up to JARVIS to find my gifts, using my search history to pinpoint things I had looked at multiple times and what I would like. I used to act like it was a game, searching for hundreds of items I didn't necessarily want, but I thought looked nice. Most of them sat unused in a room somewhere in the mansion until I got rid of them all after coming back from Afghanistan. But this would be my first Christmas with my dad in two years. I was determined to make the most if it, even if we just sat on the porch and drank eggnog on Christmas day. I knew Pepper would be disappointed, but with everything we'd gone through, I didn't expect much from my dad anymore. He's still buried in his garage, working away at something. I can understand why he does it. I'm getting to that point too.

I still haven't told him. I can't bring myself to do that to him after everything. Tell him I had managed to find my way to the place where my mother is stuck because he's holding on to a part of her still and he should let her go so she can be free. I sure as hell wasn't going to tell him about the visions and this mysterious "him" either. Knowing my dad he'd take it personally. But I had questions I still needed answers to. A lot of questions, but I knew now wasn't the time to go searching for answers. I had to focus on my dad.

Easier said than done. But at least I have Pepper to run interference for me. If anyone could get my dad out of the garage and into at least a shower, it's Pepper. Their relationship had quickly grown since I'd left. They had gotten together finally and had spent two years together working on things and building Stark Tower. Pepper continued to thrive as CEO of Stark Industries and she kept my dad taken care of. Honestly, being with Pepper was the best thing to happen to him since, well, my mom.

I know Pepper isn't trying to take the place as my mom. Pepper had always been a motherly figure towards me since she started working for my dad all those years ago. She had taken care of both of us and put up with our disasters where others had floundered. Pepper also understands there's a piece of my dad that still loves my mom. A part of him that will always keep her close in his heart. Pepper knew about as much as I did about my mom, but at least she wasn't the jealous type. My dad had been there before with relationships, and it hadn't gone over very well.

It was only a couple of weeks after our arrival in Malibu that things started to go downhill. My dad was intent on breaking the world record for the longest time awake, busy working on new things down in the lab. I know he's getting worse and I desperately want to help him, but I don't know how. Maybe if I could get him to talk about things, I could get a better understanding. But I wasn't sure how to approach him.

My answer comes when my dad buzzes me for coffee. I had been watching the news covering the recent Mandarin bombings that had been happening this year, and Uncle Rhodey's new moniker "Iron Patriot." It was rather ridiculous, but people wanted something tamer than War Machine and apparently that was Iron Patriot.

Anyways, my dad had apparently run out of coffee down in the garage and needed me to bring him some from the kitchen. I was hesitant to, but this was my chance to finally talk to him. So I go to the kitchen and grab a can of coffee grounds, carrying it down to the lab. The door is open surprisingly and my dad is tinkering away at his computer.

"You can just set it there. Thanks, Zinny." He doesn't even look up at me.

I see the trash piled high with coffee filters and a sink full of mugs. "How much coffee have you had?"

He turns to me, coming over to grab the coffee grounds. "I...don't know. Lost count a while ago."

"It can't be good for you, dad. You already have a heart condition."

He scoffs, giving me a sarcastic smile. "Funny. But seriously, don't worry about me. I'm fine." He grabs the coffee grounds with shaky hands, carrying it over to the kitchenette.

"You're shaking, dad. Maybe try sleeping?"

My dad sighs, getting the coffee started in the pot. My dad couldn't cook a lot of things himself, but he knew how to work every coffee machine on the planet, old and new. "I can't. I still can't. There's just….a lot of impossible things happened and trying to process all of that...I can't."

"Then maybe you should talk about it." I clear a spot on a table, leaning against it. "Look, dad, I was there too. If anyone is going to understand it's me. No, I didn't experience some of the stuff you did, but…" I bite my lip.

Thankfully my dad saves me from accidentally revealing my secret to him. "I know. But this…" He sweeps his arms around the garage, full of suits and parts and everything inbetween. "This is what I have to do. This is who I am. I...tinker. I try to fix things that can't be fixed. I have to build these suits to protect the one thing that I can't live without." He cups my face, looking down at me. I can really see just how tired he is in that moment. "And that's you. I've almost lost you too many times. I can't risk that again. I have to keep you safe, Zinnia. You're all I have."

I lean into his touch, closing my eyes for a moment. I could understand where he's coming from. I had almost lost him too. I wouldn't be able to stand it if I really lost him. If he hadn't come through the wormhole at the last second. He would have been lost in space and more than likely dead before anyone could ever find him. I couldn't stand losing him, and he was sharing the same feelings.

"Aren't you supposed to have date night tonight?"

My dad looks like he forgot. He was forgetting a lot of things lately.

"Right. Date night." He pats his pockets, pulling out a credit card. "Here. Order yourself some pizza. I've got some planning to do."

I smile a little. He was still the same old dad, just fighting some nasty demons. But hey, we all were.


	29. Things Get Worse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony makes a stupid decision with some grave consequences.

I didn't think things could get any worse that night, but they did. Getting woken up from the first peaceful sleep I'd had in months to the news that Happy had been injured in an explosion at the Chinese Theater wasn't how I pictured the night going. I had been in a pizza induced coma when my dad had woken me in a panic. Pepper tried to tell him that Happy wouldn't be out of surgery until the morning and we should just wait, but he was insistent on being there.

Security was tight, my dad making sure that every floor of the hospital was covered with security. The waiting room was flooded with police and hospital security, the press already flocking to the hospital to get the news on Happy and his condition and what my dad is going to do now that it's personal.

For months now there had been several random bombings, all being claimed by a terrorist named the Mandarin. He had made himself rather well known with some terrifying TV spots that always hit during prime time and took over the airways for a minute or two. My dad had been in the dark about most of the details, Uncle Rhodey being the one handling this situation, but now that Happy had been injured in a bombing, I knew there was no keeping him out of it. I could just hope he wouldn't do anything stupid.

Pepper heads home after Happy gets out of surgery to get ready for the press conference that Stark Industries was going to have regarding the current situation. I stayed in the waiting room with my dad, wanting to give him as much support as I could. He was already in a fragile position, and now with this, I wasn't sure what was going to happen.

Turns out it was worse than I thought.

Threatening a terrorist is a fairly stupid idea when you're in a position like my dad is. Giving a terrorist your home address, well...that just lowers stupid to a whole new level. I was glad I had dodged around the press and none of the cameras had caught my face because it definitely was not a flattering look when my dad just gave out the address of the mansion like that. I was glad I was already halfway in the car because I would have slapped him right there. Just what we needed. Another "Starks Gone Crazy" headline.

My dad's knuckles are white as he speeds away from the hospital, heading straight home. I knew the media would already be flocking to the address and the sooner we could get home, the better. I knew we couldn't stay at the mansion, given the fact that if the Mandarin was going to attack anywhere, it would be there. If my dad was anxious about the possible repercussions of his decisions, he wasn't showing it. I, however, was surprised the car was even still upright with how anxious I was.

"What the hell are you thinking, dad?"

"I'm thinking, things are personal now." He doesn't look at me, but he's chewing his lip like he always does when he's upset.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean you go around giving the world our address!"

"We'll be fine. We'll see him coming long before he ever reaches us."

I don't understand how he's being so calm. "Or we don't and we die!"

He's silent for a few moments. The city races by us and we're soon on our way to Malibu. He's still tense, his gaze focused out the window as he speeds down the road. I was never scared of being in a car with him when he drives live an idiot, as I'd been in the car when he was drunk and going twice as fast as a kid. I trusted him completely, even if he could be a total dunderhead sometimes. I knew things had been hard for him lately, and he'd been working so hard to protect everyone around him. I can only imagine what's going on in his head.

"I'm sending you back to SHIELD."

Definitely not what I was thinking.

"What? Why? Dad-"

"I'm not letting you get in the middle of this. The last thing I need right now is for you to get hurt again because of me. I'm sending you back to SHIELD until this all blows over."

"Dad, I'm not leaving you!"

"Yes, you are! This is my fight and I'm not letting you get involved."

The rest of the ride is silent. Thankfully I have enough control over my powers now that I don't flip the car or shatter all the windows. I wanted to break something, but I knew that wouldn't do any good. My dad goes back to his garage when we get home, and I head to my room to pack my things for my trip back to SHIELD. I knew why my dad would send me back. SHIELD was the safest place for me right now.

There were already news helicopters flying around the house, and for once I was glad for tinted windows. I knew I wouldn't be getting much sleep until this thing blew over. Or I got sent across the country. More than likely I wouldn't get much sleep there either. I'd be stuck lying awake, stressing about my dad and his stupid decisions.

Two days later my dad finally makes up his mind about sending me to SHIELD. He had been down in his garage since our trip to the hospital doing god knows what. I had already accepted the fact that it would be better for me to leave. I was not about to get kidnapped or worse again. I was more than happy to leave, though I wished my dad was coming with me. I would have felt better knowing he was somewhere else. But he was adamant to stay.

I'm finishing up packing when the doorbell rings. God I hope it's not an angry terrorist. But, I don't think a terrorist would use the doorbell. I think they'd just blow the house up. But whoever it was had managed to get through the security keeping the press at bay on the street. Couldn't have been someone bad. I didn't worry too much about it, finishing up packing, before heading down the stairs.

My dad and Pepper are down in the main living area, talking to a dark haired woman I don't recognize. They obviously knew each other. I could tell by the tension in the room. I skirt around them, heading for the door. I don't even make it to the hallway before my dad is stopping me.

"You. Where are you going?"

I turn around, looking at him. "To the airport. To fly to D.C. and be with SHIELD like you told me to."

"Are you taking a cab?"

I nod. "Yeah...and a commercial flight. Why?"

"Cancel the cab and the flight. I'm driving you and we're taking the jet. We can drop you off in D.C."

I then notice the bags that were sitting on the ground by Pepper's feet. So it looks like they were leaving for the holidays after all. Probably a good thing. I don't want me, or my dad, or Pepper to be here when the Mandarin finally shows up.

"Dad, I'm perfectly capable of taking a cab and flying like a normal person."

"You absolutely are not. Five minutes and we'll be out of here."

Sadly five minutes was too long. When I think back on that moment, I picture a lot of things differently. How they could have happened, possibilities for different outcomes. If only I had left earlier. If only Pepper had gotten my dad to leave earlier. If my dad had never blabbed about our address in the first place. And worst of all, if I had been good enough at my powers to stop the whole thing from happening.

Our visitor had been the only one who had seen anything coming. If I had seen it sooner, maybe things would have turned out differently. But none of us even saw the missile until it had hit the house. Everything around us exploded, and time seemed to slow as rubble and debris go flying in the air. I manage to get a protective bubble around myself, protecting me as giant chunks of living room wall come flying. I hit the ground, my bubble softening the landing, but only slightly. I'm dazed for a moment, the reality of the situation not hitting me quite yet.

I sit up, looking at the gaping hole in the living room wall. Looks like we had been sitting too long, waiting for the Mandarin. Because he was making his move right now. The foundation of the house starts cracking from the impact, a piece of cement about to come crashing down on my dad. I want to do something, create a second bubble around my dad, stop the cement from falling, but I can't. I'm frozen, the shock starting to hit me. Suddenly I'm thrown back into the desert in Afghanistan almost four years ago when our convoy had been attacked. When all of this had started. Thankfully my dad had been thinking ahead, and right as the piece falls, the Iron Man suit that had been in the living room before the missile hit jumps over him, taking the hit for him.

The second missile hitting shocks me back into reality and I force my bubble outward, trying to keep as much rubble at bay as possible. The foundation continues to crack and I know I can't hold it together. I'm not strong enough, and everyone's lives are at risk because of that. I hate myself in that moment, watching my dad and Pepper, who was inside the Iron Man suit struggle. I wasn't strong enough to protect them. Maybe if I had been, things would have turned out differently.

"Move! I'm right behind you!" I hear my dad yell. Dust had clouded the room, making it hard to see.

My bubble is starting to waver, dust getting inside and choking me. "Dad!" I call out.

"Zinny, run! Get out of here!"

Part of the floor cracks apart, leaving a gap between Pepper and my dad.

"Get her. I'm gonna find a way around." My dad yells. Pepper stands there frozen, and I understand how she feels. "Stop stopping. Get her. Get outside. Go!"

Pepper, finally snapping back to reality moves over to the dark haired woman and together we help her to her feet, dragging her towards the front door. Pepper tries to get the repulser to fire to break through the glass door, but she can't get it to work until she has it behind her, propelling us through the door. I try to protect us from the glass and the impact of the ground, but it still hurts, my bubble finally fading completely.

A third missile hits, the sound of the house crumbling loud in our ears and we're helpless to watch as it starts to fall off the edge of the cliff.

"Oh, my god. Tony!" Pepper yells, standing up.

I stand up at the suit began breaking apart, pulling off of Pepper and flying into the house. The helicopters begin firing machine guns at the house, and I can only pray that my dad is okay. The three of us watch as two of the helicopters go down, hopefully a sign that my dad is okay and was going to make it out of there.

He never comes out and the panic that had been numbed by the adrenaline starts to work its way up as more of the house disappears over the cliff.

"Dad!" I go to run into the house but Pepper catches my arm, holding me back. "Dad! Let me go!"

"No! I'm not losing you too."

Pepper holds me back as I scream and fight her, trying to get in there. But I knew there wasn't anything I could do. Even if he was still in there, it was too dangerous. The small remainder of the house was unsteady and I could hear rubble shifting. I finally give up, Pepper pulling me close and I bury my face in her shoulder. I could feel her shaking as we stand there, helpless to do anything but wait and hope that somehow my dad made it out alive.


	30. Not Getting Kidnapped Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zinny is on the run and gets led to someone unexpected.

I was numb. Completely and utterly numb. The rescue teams had arrived, paramedics there checking us over, patching any cuts and scrapes while firefighters looked for any sign of my dad. They searched the ruins of the mansion, hardly anything but a doorway and some rubble. My childhood home, the place I'd grown up in, had so many experiences in was now at the bottom of the pacific, along with, quite possibly, the body of my father.

I had lost the ability to cry after a couple of hours, sitting in the back of an ambulance wrapped in a bright orange blanket. Orange wasn't ever my color, but this one was particularly horrendous. I didn't want to believe my dad was dead. I wanted to believe that by some miracle he had made it out and was coming back here. But I wasn't sure. I hadn't been paying enough attention to notice if he had flown out of the house or not. I was starting to lose hope the more I thought about it.

I didn't want to leave, even when Pepper said they were going to get a hotel room. I wanted to stay in case my dad came back. She promised me that he'd be able to find us if we left, and finally got me into her car, the only one left in the area. I'm so exhausted from the stress of the past few days that I drift off before we even pull away from the ruins of the mansion.

I wake up not long after to the sounds of car doors slamming, Pepper going in with the woman to get us a hotel room. I didn't know where we were exactly, but I assumed we were still in the area. The typical palm trees gave that one away.

I get out of the car, feeling a tingle running down my spine. That cursed feeling of dread fills me again, and I can't shake the feeling that someone's watching me. Pepper comes back out, I assume to get me and park the car. I close my door, looking around again.

"I'm gonna go for a walk. I gotta clear my head."

She nods. "Just don't go too far. We're in room 214. Knock on the door when you get back."

I nod. "I won't be too long."

I walk down the street, away from the hotel. My brain is trying to process everything and shove it all down at the same time. I know I have to move on, I should take Pepper with me and go to D.C. to SHIELD. If anyone can find my dad, SHIELD can. Even if it was a body, it would be better than not knowing. I don't want to believe he's really dead. The reality that it was even a possibility hasn't hit me yet. I'm still trying to hold that one back.

I walk a few blocks, stopping in front of a convenience store. I want to get something to eat, but I know I shouldn't let my face be seen. The last thing we needed was the press on our heels. Everyone would be assuming that he's dead and would want comments, the story of what happened. I wasn't ready to give up hope yet. And if they wanted the story, they could get it from the police. There would be rumors though, that much I already knew.

I turn back towards the direction of the hotel, pulling my hood up over my head. My wallet and my phone are still in my pocket, the only two things I'd made it out of the mansion with besides the clothes on my back. I didn't want to think about losing everything just yet. Of course, it would be easy for my dad to replace it all, but you can't buy back memories. My dad had never been sentimental, but I wasn't that lucky.

I was so distracted by my thoughts that I almost walked right into a trap. I hadn't noticed the two black cars in front of the hotel, and I had almost walked right up to them. The alarm bells in my head were going off, that sick feeling of something being wrong twisting at my gut, and I quickly duck behind some bushes. I crawl closer to the hotel so I can see better, quickly ducking behind a fern as a man dressed in all black looks my way. I hold my breath, waiting to hear his footsteps come closer, but none came. I peek back out, gasping quietly when I see another man coming out of the hotel, carrying an unconscious Pepper over his shoulder. Another blonde man in a grey suit, and the dark haired woman follow after him. I knew there was something fishy about her.

"No sign of the girl." Another man dressed in black says, following them out of the hotel.

"She said she was going for a walk. She couldn't have gotten far." The woman says.

"Keep your eyes open." The man in the suit says before getting in the car.

I wait behind the plant until they drive away. I count 120 seconds in my head to give them time to get far enough away before taking off back towards the convenience store, the opposite direction they went. I knew they'd be looking for me so I toss my phone in a trash can to be safe. With the right hacking ability, even Stark phones are traceable, and I wouldn't put it past them to try. It was safer to not have it than to risk it. I hated that it was the one connection I had with my dad if he happened to be in a position to call me, but I wasn't about to risk getting kidnapped again. I was not going to let that happen again.

I find the nearest ATM, drawing out enough money for a plane ticket and a little extra before hailing a cab to the airport. I know I can't use my dad's plane. It would draw too much attention and they could easily find me wherever we were going to land, so I had to be a normal person. I just hope I can get to D.C. before they do.

The five hour flight from LA to D.C. was the longest flight I'd ever been on. My nerves were high, but I had to keep myself controlled. Losing control in an airplane full of innocent people would not have been good. Talk about drawing attention to yourself. The world didn't need two Starks being assumed dead in one day. I had managed to get the last ticket on a flight, everything being booked for the holidays. The nice thing, though, was the airport was packed, making it easier to hide. I hadn't seen any conspicuous looking people, but you could never be sure.

It was early morning when we landed, the sun still making its way over the tops of the buildings. I pushed my way into the crowd, trying to keep myself hidden as I make my way into the airport. It was just as busy as LAX, if not busier. I quickly scan the crowd, looking for anyone conspicuous, but yet again I come up empty handed. It doesn't make me feel any better.

I blend in with a large family making their way out of the airport, pulling out the burner phone I'd bought at LAX to call SHIELD. I don't see them until I'm halfway across the parking lot, two of them dressed in black suits, leaning up against an SUV. I quickly look away, hoping they hadn't seen me but I was wrong.

I take off running, nearly slipping in the snow, heading away from the airport. I didn't know if I could fight them, but I wasn't about to stand around and wait for my opportunity to try. I'm not sure how far I run, but it must have been fairly far, as I ended up somewhere in downtown D.C. I wasn't sure if I had lost them or not, so I keep running, cutting through alleys and trying to stay away from the main roads as much as possible. Maybe if I cut around enough, I'd lose them.

But I wasn't that lucky. I had ducked down behind a parked car in a parking lot, only to have the window above me shatter with a gunshot. Great, now they were shooting at me. I dodge through cars as bullets rain past me. I get out of the parking lot, running down a side street to an alleyway, ducking behind a dumpster.

I close my eyes for a moment, trying to catch my breath. My legs hurt and I had a stitch in my side from running. I obviously didn't work out enough anymore. My lungs are burning, so I do some deep breathing, praying I have enough time to catch my breath.

I don't.

The dumpster I had hidden behind is pulled away from the wall and tossed down the alley. I scramble to my feet, staring in shock at the two men. Definitely an unexpected turn of events. I back up from them as I try to catch my breath, wheezing like an asthmatic. Both of them were breathing hard, but only looking slightly winded compared to me. I manage to put up a protective bubble around myself, trying to keep some distance between us.

"Look, doll, this game of chase has been fun and all, but we don't want to hurt you. Just come with us quietly and we promise no harm will come to you."

"If you don't want to harm me, then why were you shooting at me?"

"To slow you down. But obviously that didn't work. Now, are you going to come the easy way, or are we going to have to force you?"

I was not getting kidnapped again. I hold my hands out, ready to knock them on their asses, my bubble strengthening around me. The man who had spoken to me turns back to his partner, both of them laughing, before the first man holds out his own hand. It's glowing orange. Definitely a new one.

All he has to do is touch my bubble and I'm done for. His glowing fingers tap my bubble, the orange fire ripping across the surface, causing a fire to erupt in my brain. I lose control, the bubble disappearing as I fall to the ground. The fire is ripping itself through my body, burning all of my nerve endings. I feel sick, a slick sweat forming on my skin. The first man smirks at me, kneeling down in the snow, which had melted around me.

"And I was told you were going to be a tough one to subdue."

I feel angry then. The pain fades as the anger fills me. I use the anger I had felt towards my dad, the anger towards the Mandarin for what he was doing, the anger from the destruction of my home, the possible loss of my father. The anger at having to run more in an hour than I had ever had to run in my life. The anger at this asshole for being so cocky. I shove my hand towards him, a shockwave shooting outwards, throwing him, and everything that hadn't been connected to the ground in that moment backwards.

I don't stay around to see where they land and if they get back up. I haul myself to my feet. I'm weary and hot and tired, but I push myself forward. I had to find somewhere safe to go. I had to lose the men who I knew would probably still be chasing me.

Bullets hit the sidewalk behind me and that thought is answered. Looks like I had only managed to piss them off. I continue to run, weaving through a residential area, made up of small businesses and apartment buildings. People scatter as soon as they hear the gunshots and I'm shocked the police aren't here yet. Where were they? Did D.C. even have police? Or was the army taking their time suiting up to come stop these crazies?

I turn down an alley, only to find it forked in two different directions. I knew I had seconds to decide which way to go. I wasn't sure if I could put up another fight if they caught me. Everything was burning and I was starting to get dizzy. I didn't know if I could even run, much less fight. I can't decide which way looks better, left or right.

_Left._

I might have been so delirious that I was hearing voices, or perhaps I was so tired, my inner voice sounded like a completely different person, but I wasn't about to argue. I didn't have time to argue. I can only trust whoever said "left" whether it was me or someone else, wasn't about to lead me to my doom.

I run left, racing down the alley and find myself back to a place I'd already run.

_Cross the street._

Again with the voice. I still can't decide if it's me or someone else playing with me, but I don't argue, running across the street, pissing off a few people.

_Straight ahead a block, then turn left._

I do as the voice says, running up a block before turning left. I don't know if the men are still following, but I'm not about to stop and find out.

_Four blocks down then turn left._

Four blocks might as well have been a marathon. I wasn't sure I could keep running, but I didn't trust enough to slow down. Good thing I didn't. I duck again as more bullets fly over my head. Where were the police? I was only getting shot at halfway across the city. Why hadn't help come yet? I make it four blocks, taking a hard left, but nearly fall as pain shoots through my side. I catch myself, grabbing my side as I continue to run, pure adrenaline forcing me forward.

_One more block. Turn left, enter the building._

I don't question it. I was still being followed and they were hard to lose. I could have been walking, well running, into a trap but I didn't care. If a trap meant getting to rest, then so be it. I just wasn't going to give Thing One and Two behind me the satisfaction of catching me. They had pissed me off.

I tear around the corner, nearly missing the door as I scramble up the few steps and inside the unlocked door. I throw myself against the wall out of sight of the door, wheezing hard as I clutch my side. I turn to peek out the door, watching Thing One and Two race past the building. I sigh in relief, finally getting a moment to rest.

I take in my surroundings, finding myself in the lobby of an apartment building. There's a couple maintenance closets and the landlord's door to my left and to the right is a staircase leading up. Usually apartment buildings weren't unlocked, especially in the city. I wondered why this one was. Maybe it was fate.

_Second floor. Apartment 4._

I didn't want to move, but I knew staying in the lobby was dangerous. They could come back, checking the buildings or someone would see me and kick me out. I didn't know what or who was in Apartment 4, and I wasn't really sure I wanted to find out, but anything could be better than Thing One and Two finding me. My entire body is still burning, my clothes soaked in sweat as I limp slowly up the steps, breathing hard. Apartment four. Apartment four. I say it like a mantra, the staircase seeming like Mount Everest in my state of exhaustion. I stumble on the landing, catching myself on the balcony before spotting Apartment four in front of me. I stumble into the door before knocking, leaning heavily against the frame. My vision is starting to swim as the door cracks open, someone peeking out behind it.

"Something lead me here. I know it sounds crazy, but I'm in danger and I-"

"Zinnia?" The door opens wider, a familiar red and blue shield the first thing that I see before my eyes trail up the broad shoulders to his face.

At that point I was seeing four of him, but it was definitely him...whichever one was the real one. I'd know those blue eyes anywhere. I can feel my legs giving out from under me, my vision getting dark around the edges. My side is sticky and damp, the fire starting to burn out in my veins.

"Hi Steve."


	31. Makeshift Christmas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zinny and Steve spend Christmas together.

Falling face first into Steve's broad, muscular chest was not how I pictured being reunited with him going. As soon as I had started to fall forward, Steve had grabbed me, hauling me into the apartment like I weighed nothing. I managed to stay conscious, fighting the exhaustion pulling at my brain, trying to get me to sleep. I was not going to pass out in Captain America's arms. That would be way to cliche and I was not going to be a damsel.

"What happened to you? I mean, I heard about the mansion and your dad…"

"I think I just ran the Boston Marathon in D.C."

I can tell he's confused. Apparently he still had a lot to learn about modern times.

"Where did you come from?"

"The airport. Some asshat in an expensive suit took Pepper from the hotel and sent Thing One and Two after me. Chased me from the airport. Tried to fight me but I kicked their asses but they kept chasing me."

His brow furrows which suddenly makes me feel disappointed about every wrong thing I've ever done in my life. "How did you find me?"

I shrug, hissing at the pain in my side. "A voice led me here. I don't know if it was my conscious or someone else's but I found you!"

He pauses in the living room. There's boxes still stacked in corners and the apartment looks bare. Apparently this was a new place. I had assumed he'd still be in New York living in the SHIELD apartment.

"You're bleeding."

I look down, noticing what had been the sticky damp spot I'd felt a few moments earlier. There was a hole in my sweatshirt, the fabric damp from something red. Blood. I pull my sweatshirt up, exposing my side and I see him blush. If I hadn't been so tired and panicky I probably would have cooed over how adorable it was.

I look down at my side, a deep cut about two inches long etched into my skin. It's raw and bleeding, thankfully soaking into my clothes and not on Steve's floor. I poke at it, starting to go numb with shock.

"Huh. So that's what that pain was."

"We need to get you to a hospital."

"No!" Steve looks up at me, steadying me as I waver on my feet. "They'll be looking everywhere for me. They can't find me."

I can tell he wants to ask more, but I feel like I'm about to drop and I probably look worse.

"Let's get you sitting down. My neighbor's a nurse. I'll get her to come look at it."

"No, 's alright. I'm fine." I was suddenly very sleepy and his couch was looking very comfortable.

He gives me a look which once again has me regretting every wrong decision I've ever made, hoisting me into the air like one might a sack of potatoes, carrying me into what I assume is his bathroom. He sits me down on the toilet, surprisingly the lid is closed. My dad was notorious for leaving the seat up in every bathroom he used. Must be an old fashioned thing to close it. Or maybe he didn't use this bathroom. That was always a possibility. I lean against the counter, putting my head in my hand to hold it up.

"Don't move." Steve says before leaving the bathroom to go find his nurse neighbor.

I didn't even know I was asleep until she was waking me. She was talking, checking my vitals as much as she could in Captain America's bathroom. Steve was leaning in the doorway, a giant, nice looking blur.

"What happened to your fingers?"

I frown, lifting my fingers to my face, squinting to try and get my eyes to focus. I can see red marks across them, almost like burn marks.

"Glowing hand…" I murmur, letting my hand fall back to my lap.

"What is she talking about?"

I see Steve move out of the corner of my eye and I assume he's shrugging. "I'm not sure. She seems rather...delirious."

Steve's nurse neighbor nods, finishing putting a dressing on the bullet graze. "She doesn't seem to have any other injuries so it would be fine to let her sleep. Just watch her. If something seems off, you should get her to a hospital."

I finally get a good look at Steve's neighbor nurse as she stands up. She's tall, white, blonde, beautiful. I wonder if Steve has a type. If that was his type then I was the polar opposite. I don't know why that popped into my head. There was nothing between us. I had only broken his nose under Loki's control then offered to show him around New York. I wasn't even sure we could call each other friends. He had the unfortunate opportunity to work with my dad when they had to save the world from aliens and I was just his coworker's daughter who happened to have the worst luck in the world.

I can't keep my eyes open any longer and I drift off, sitting on Captain America's toilet in his bathroom. Definitely not a good look for me.

My head is throbbing when I wake back up. I feel like I've been hit by a truck, my whole body aching. It takes a moment for my memories to come flooding back. The mansion being destroyed, my dad being assumed dead, Pepper being taken by the guy in the suit, being chased across D.C. by a man with a glowing fist. Steve. Being led to Steve by a strange voice in my head. I groan, burying my face under the covers. It was all too much right now.

The sheets are clean and crisp, most likely brand new. They smell clean, kind of like laundry detergent, or maybe that was the comforter. The pillows are soft and new as well, I can tell by the way my head sinks in when I relax. I peek out from under the covers, looking around the room. It's plain and fairly basic, the bed against the wall in the center, a dresser under the window on the right side, the door to the closet across from the bed. There's a desk on the other side and a bookshelf, the night stand right by my head. It's light outside, and I'm unsure of how long I've been asleep. It could have been a few hours or days for all I knew.

The door opens quietly and I look over, Steve coming through. He looks nice, dressed in slacks and a crimson colored sweater. It's a good color on him, but then again I was sure he would look nice in any color.

"You're awake." He walks over, setting a glass of water on the nightstand. "How do you feel?"

"Awful." I sound pretty awful too.

"I'm sorry I don't have any pain killers. I don't really need them."

I sit up, grabbing the glass of water. "It's okay. I'll live." I down the glass quickly, the water probably the best tasting thing I'd ever had in my life. "How long was I out?"

"Almost a day. It's Christmas Day now."

I look down guiltily. "I'm sorry I imposed on your Christmas."

"Nah, it's okay. I wasn't doing anything anyways. Just going to sit around and watch some T.V."

I frown. "Alone?"

Steve nods. "Haven't really had the chance to make any friends in D.C. yet. Kind of hard to meet people with similar life experiences and not give away the fact that I'm also the original Captain America."

I nod. "Still, no one should be alone on Christmas."

He smiles a little half smile that has butterflies erupting in my stomach. "Well, I'm not alone now. I've got ham and potatoes cooking if you're hungry. It'll be a bit before they're done, though."

I look up at him, smiling a little. "Thank you, Steve. For doing this. Taking me in, helping me."

"Hey, I wasn't about to let you stay out there in the cold and fend for yourself. You looked like death yesterday. What happened?"

I tell him about the mansion being destroyed and the people who took Pepper. How they knew I'd go to D.C. and sent people after me, which led me to run halfway across the city to avoid being captured or worse. How one of them had a glowing fist that had left me feeling like I was burning alive. How a strange voice has led me to his apartment to escape the men. His face is set as he listens, taking it all in. It was a wild story, that's for sure. I just wish I had more answers. Like who was the man who took Pepper? Was he working for the Mandarin too? How had they known I'd go to D.C?

"Hey, Zinny, it's okay. You're safe."

I look up at Steve. He has a soft look in his eyes, the same one he'd had when I'd snapped out of Loki's control in New York. The same look he'd given me for a split second in the middle of a battle to make sure I was alright. I feel myself melting under his gaze, my brain whispering for me to believe him.

"I promise I won't let anything happen to you."

Steve goes to check on the ham and I hop in the shower. I was sweaty and nasty after running for so long yesterday, and I felt bad for dirting Steve's sheets in his guest bedroom. Apparently he'd just got it set up, and no one had the chance to stay in it until I came along. He thought it would be a good idea in case one of the Avengers need a place to crash. He had even gone as far as washing my clothes for me, though my shirt had a hole in it so I opted to wear one of his instead. He had promised he hadn't looked when he changed me, not that I would have cared. Underwear was no different than a bathing suit and the world had seen me in bathing suits far more often than I would have liked.

His shirt is like a dress on me, and it smells so good it takes me a minute to stop smelling it an actually put it on. I couldn't put my finger on it exactly, but whatever it was, it was amazing. I use a rubber band to tie the shirt up so it's not quite so long, using another to tie off my braid. My hair was going to be insane when it dried, but I'd just have to deal with that later.

The entire apartment smells like Christmas heaven when I come out. We had always had ham on Christmas and the smell of it made a whole slew of memories come crashing in. I force the emotions down as I head closer to the kitchen. Steve has his back to me, stirring something on the stove. There's cookies on a plate on the table, all of them intricately frosted.

"You can have one, if you'd like."

Steve is standing in the doorway to the kitchen, wiping his hands on a towel.

"Did you decorate these?" He nods. "They're incredible!"

He shrugs, looking bashful. "Well, I've got a lot of time on my hands."

I pick one up, shaped as a snowman with a hat and even a scarf. "I almost feel bad for eating it."

He smiles, grabbing a santa. "Don't feel bad. I can always make more."

I smile, taking a bite. They're moist and soft, the buttery texture melting in my mouth. The frosting is just right, not too sweet and not too thin. Overall, it's delicious. I have to check myself to make sure I'm not making embarrassing sounds.

Steve is smiling at me when I finally open my eyes. I didn't even know I had closed them. "That good?"

I nod. "They're delicious!"

Steve smiles. "It's a recipe my Ma used to make every year."

"You remember it?"

He shakes his head. "Not exactly. Howard went to my apartment in Brooklyn after I went into the ice and packed everything up, kept it in boxes at SHIELD in case he found me. They still had it after all this time. Mostly old records, pictures, some stuff of my parents. Some of Bucky's stuff too."

I can see the pain on his face when he mentions Bucky. Everyone knew about Bucky and how he had been lost during the war. Captain America's best friend who he had gone over enemy lines to save. I knew it had to be hard, getting your best friend back and then losing them so soon. Then waking up 70 years later, with everyone you knew gone and the world a completely different place than when you left it. I really felt for him.

"The ham will be done in about an hour. There's some Christmas movies on TV, if you're interested."

I grin. "Well, what are we waiting for?"

Our little makeshift Christmas was one of the best Christmases I had ever had. Sure, Christmas with my dad had always been big and extravagant, tons of presents, a huge dinner for two, sometimes three people. But this Christmas, just Steve and I with some ham and potatoes and Christmas movies I'd seen a hundred times on TV was unlike anything I had ever experienced before. It was simple, something I wasn't used to, but I could definitely see myself getting used to it.


	32. Parting Ways

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zinny has to make a hard decision.

Turns out my dad is alive after all. He had gone after the Mandarin and the kidnapped president, rescuing the president and saving lots of people's lives. How did I know this? The news. It was all over, seemingly every channel reporting on it. I hadn't even known it was going on, or that my dad was helping. That he was even still alive. Now I just had to figure out how to contact him and let him know I'm alright.

Steve had a cell phone, which was honestly quite surprising. I was even more surprised when he pulled out a smartphone.

He looks a little embarrassed at my look of shock. "Natasha lives in D.C. and insisted I have one. She taught me how to do basic stuff on it. I'm still trying to figure things out."

It's not much, just a simple phone, but considering a lot of people didn't even have landlines in their homes back in his day, I was impressed. I wasn't sure if my dad still had his phone or not, so I call the next best person.

"Uncle Rhodey?"

" _Oh thank god, Zinnia! Do you know how worried we've all been? I tried calling you, but you didn't answer."_

"That's because I threw my phone in a trash can in LA."

" _Why did you-"_

"Long story. I'm sure you'll hear it at some point. Do you know where my dad is?"

" _He's headed to New York right now. Back to the tower to help Pepper."_

"Help Pepper? What happened to her?"

" _Long story."_

Touche. "Alright. Well, can you give him this number and tell him to call me?"

" _Sure thing. Are you sure you're alright?"_

"Yes. I'm fine. I'm safe."

" _Where are you?"_

"D.C. At a safehouse of sorts. Just have my dad call me. I need to yell at him."

" _Alright. I'll talk to you later."_

We say our goodbyes and I give the phone back to Steve. "My dad's supposed to be calling me at some point."

Steve nods. "I'm glad he's alright."

I nod. "I am too." I chew on my lip for a moment. "As soon as I figure out what he's doing I'll be out of your hair, I promise."

Steve looks up at me. I can't read his face. "It's alright. You can stay as long as you need."

I smile. "Thank you."

My dad calls an hour later. I'm surprised it takes him that long. The phone call is full of crying and yelling and frustration but finally I get the whole story of what happened to him. He tells me he's heading to New York to work on stabilizing the Extremis that Pepper had been injected with. Apparently that's what Thing One and possible Thing Two had been given as well. He tells me he's going to go in for surgery to get the shrapnel in his chest removed in two days, a split second decision, but he had decided it was the right one. He also decided he wasn't going to rebuild the mansion and he was going to stay at the tower full time now. I decide to head his way, my dad sending the jet to D.C. to pick me up.

Steve looks almost disappointed when I tell him I'm leaving. I tried not to let it sink in, but it made me feel slightly guilty. More guilty than just barging in with some heavy baggage and expecting him to protect me. He had promised that he would keep me safe, but I wondered if that had been him saying that, or if I had forced him to by being there. I felt bad for taking over his Christmas, even if he had reassured me it was nice having someone there. I knew I had to leave though. I had to see my dad and there was a lot I hadn't told him yet. I wasn't quite ready to leave him. There were things he deserved to know.

I use Steve's phone to call a cab, nothing in my pockets except for my wallet, which has enough to get me to the airport. Steve had loaned me one of his shirts, since both mine and my sweatshirt had an ominous hole in the side. I didn't need to get recognized and then asked about the bullet hole in my shirt. That would be the last thing we'd need.

Steve walks me down to the lobby as we wait for the cab. We make small talk, mostly about stuff he's figured out and learned about the modern world. He's still baffled about how open people are and how relaxed everyone is compared to back then. I think it's strange since everyone always seems to be stressed nowadays. But I guess the stressors were different back then than they are now. I reassure him he'll get used to it, that the world isn't as scary as it looks.

I'm hesitant to leave when the cab gets here. He looks sad again, disappointed. I take a deep breath, putting on my best smile. Part of me didn't want to go, but I knew I had to.

"I guess this is goodbye."

He looks up at me. "It doesn't have to be. You can stay."

"Steve.."

"I know you think you imposed on me, but...it was nice, having someone around. It was extremely taboo back in my day, but now...there's people down the hall that live together as roommates."

I want to say. Every part of my heart is telling me to stay with him, not let him be alone. But my brain knows I can't. "Steve...I want to. I really do. I don't want you to be alone, but I need to see my dad. There's...things I need to talk to him about." I look around, spotting maintenance slips next to the maintenance door so I grab one, using the pen to write the number for my phone at the tower down. I hand it to him, trying to think of something to say. "Call me."

Probably not the best way to end things there, but I couldn't think of anything else to say. And if I would have stayed any longer, I might not have left. I don't look back at him as I get in the cab, heading into the crazy after-Christmas shopping traffic. I try not to let the emotions get out of control. He had wanted me to stay. He had looked so sad when I told him I was leaving and he had been so sincere about his offer to let me stay. I hated him being alone. He was already alone, a man out of time, and he really was alone without anyone to help him. I tried not to dwell on it too much, otherwise I might tell the cab driver to turn around and take me back.

The airport is packed, but thankfully no one recognizes me. They're all too worried about finding their flights and getting where they need to go. I head in the direction of the private hangers, not sure how to convince the people at the desk that I really am Zinnia Stark. I didn't have any makeup on, my hair looked like a rats nest, tangled in a braid from a day ago, and I was wearing a shirt that was huge on me. In all honesty, I probably looked like a homeless person. I still had my ID, but I doubted they would believe it was me in the picture.

Thankfully I didn't have to make them believe.

One of my dad's personal security guards was waiting and didn't even question me as we walked out to the private jet. This particular guard had worked for my dad almost as long as Happy had. He'd seen me grow up and had seen my at my best, and now at my worst. He escorts me onto the plane, flying back to New York with me. It was nice, being on a private flight again, after having been on a normal flight. There were no screaming babies and no one snoring on my shoulder either. I had my own seat and I could stretch out as far as I wanted.

My dad is waiting on the tarmac when we land. I'm so happy to see him I nearly trip and eat it down the stairs, but I manage to keep it together, throwing myself in to his arms when I get to him. He holds me tightly, breathing me in. I probably smell like a mix of Steve and Ivory soap, but if it bothers him, he doesn't mention it. He smells clean, his usual cologne on as always.

"I was so worried. I thought you were gone."

"I know. I'm sorry. I wanted to contact you, but I couldn't find you anywhere."

I sniffle, pulling away. "I was in D.C. With Steve."

"Steve?" My dad looks confused.

"Steve Rogers? Captain America?"

He gives me a look. "How did you end up there?"

He ushers me into the car as I tell him everything, running after Pepper's kidnapping, flying to D.C, being led on a chase, finding Steve's apartment. I leave out the details about spending Christmas with Steve, wanting to keep some things private. He catches me up on what happened to him, and Pepper's current situation while we drive back to the tower. I was eternally grateful to Rhodey for being there to help my dad once again. He was always good at getting my dad out of trouble. And my dad was excellent at getting himself in trouble.

I head up to my room once we get back to the tower, my dad telling me he wants to talk more, but he has to check up on Pepper. I let him go, going to my desk and pulling out my phone. There's a text from an unknown number, telling me it's Steve and to send him a word message when I get to the tower. I smile at how cute he is, sending him a text telling him I made it to the tower safely.

My room is pretty much a replica of the one I had at the mansion, same sized closet and bathroom, same large bed in the middle of the wall, a dresser with my pictures on one side under a TV and my vanity on the other wall between the bathroom and the closet. The carpet is soft and plushy under my feet, and I kick my shoes off, falling back on the bed. I still felt guilty for leaving Steve, but I had some things that had to be done here. Some things I needed to discuss with my dad.


	33. Tony Learns the Truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony learns some startling truths

My dad's surgery goes smoothly. Pepper, Rhodey and I are there to support him through it, finally getting the shrapnel removed so he can live without the arc reactor. It was a big decision, but he was adamant on it, not wanting to live with the fear of something going wrong with the arc reactor. We're there for a few hours, waiting for the surgery to finish. It was nerve wracking, but overall it goes well.

My dad is released a couple days later, being told to take it easy for the next couple of weeks while the wound heals. No extensive partying on New Years. I knew he wouldn't listen though, he's Tony Stark. He's not good at taking it easy. Pepper makes sure he doesn't strain himself too much, though. They had been doing better in their relationship since my dad had promised to treat her better. I was happy for them. Pepper was good for my dad and they were both finally happy.

My dad is still healing when I finally tell him the truth. He'd always have a scar and an indent in his chest from where the arc reactor was, but at least now he didn't have shrapnel in his body. I knew he had kept it and made it into a necklace for Pepper. I thought it was sweet. Maybe he was starting to get sentimental in his old age. Granted, he'd thrown the arc reactor away, so he couldn't be that sentimental. Still, it was a nice change.

My dad was down in the garage, working on rebuilding the bots he'd pulled out of the ocean. He couldn't leave them behind and had gone back to get them. I knew as much as they frustrated him, he'd always have a soft spot for them. Again with my dad getting sentimental.

We had gone out, just the two of us to get lunch for my birthday and we were stuck in traffic on the way back to the tower. We were currently discussing my choice of lodgings when I was in D.C.

"So you went to D.C. and wound up at his apartment?"

"I didn't go there to specifically visit his apartment. I didn't even know he had an apartment in D.C!"

My dad gives me a look. "And yet you just randomly showed up there?"

"I didn't randomly show up there, a voice led me to him."

"A voice?" He looks at me again. "Are you sure we don't need to get your head checked?"

"I'm sure dad! All I know was I was running for my life and then someone started giving me directions in my head to his apartment. Like directly to his apartment, apartment number and everything."

My dad is silent for a few moments. "I don't like it. Have you been hearing anything else?"

I shake my head. "No. I haven't heard it since...since D.C."

He's silent again. We go an entire block before he finally says something. "You're not telling me something."

I sigh. "Dad, you don't want to go there right now."

We stop at a light. "Yes, I think I do. Something's been bothering you since New York."

I sigh. This is going to go well. "I saw my mom."

My dad jumps two lanes of traffic and nearly slams the Audi into a parking garage gate. He shuts the car off, gripping the wheel tightly. "What did you just say?"

"When I was under Loki's control, I saw my mom."

I can see him fighting a lot of emotions, namely panic as he stares straight ahead at the gate. He's chewing his lip again, his knuckles white on the wheel.

"That's impossible."

"She was there. She's stuck in a place where lost dreams go."

He gives me a look, long and hard. "That's it. We're going to the hospital to get your brain scanned."

"No, dad." I grab his arm before he can put the Audi in gear. "Just listen, okay? Remember that bear I lost in Paris when I was eight? It was there too. Missing an eye, the ear torn nearly off from me chewing it when I was nervous. Grandpa gave it to me. She knew that he had given it to me too."

My dad sighs, leaning back in his seat. "What did she look like?"

"She was beautiful. My hair, a bright smile, kind honey colored eyes, freckles across her nose."

My dad inhales sharply, looking away from me. I can tell he's fighting tears and a whole slew of other emotions.

"She knew who I was. She wasn't the only one there. There were others, other things, other people stuck there. She said it's the place where people's lost hopes and dreams go. She said she was stuck there because there's a part of you that's still holding on to the hope you two had."

My dad inhales shakily, his grip so tight on the wheel, I'm scared he might break it. "You're sure it was real."

"A part of it is." I nod. "She touched me and to whatever part of me that was there, it felt real." I leave out the part about the visions. Something was telling me it would not be a good idea to tell him.

He sits there, his eyes down in his lap for a few moments, hand still on the gear shift. I can see the emotions flickering over his face, and I feel guilty for telling him, but he deserves to know. He doesn't say anything else on the drive back, speeding as much as he can to get back quickly. His knuckles are still white as he drives, his gaze set out the windshield.

We sit in the car for a while once we're back at the tower, my dad still staring out the windshield at the garage wall and I stare down at my hands. I can practically feel the emotions in the car, my dad's intense feelings radiating outward. He had never been one to show much emotion. Now I knew why he had gotten drunk every year on the anniversary of her death.

"Why didn't you tell me?" His voice is broken, and I can hear how much turmoil the emotions are causing in his voice.

"You were dealing with so much I didn't think I could do that to you. You were already having so many problems with what happened...I didn't want to add to them."

He's quiet again. I can see him trying to process everything, trying to work through the rubble from the bomb I had just dropped on him.

"I can't let go of her. No matter how much I try...how much I want to I can't. She was the greatest thing to ever happen to me before you came along. I loved her. I was going to marry her. She was so different from all the other women...and then I lost her in some stupid work accident."

"It wasn't a work accident." The words are out of my mouth before I can stop them.

He's looking at me now, and I know I've done it. There's no going back now. I was about to drop a A-bomb on him after my nuke. "Zinnia, what else aren't you telling me?"

I take a deep breath. "Back when Stane used me as a human experiment, he told me about the serum's past. How they made it, how they changed it, how my mother unknowingly helped them figure out the flaws." I gulp, feeling his eyes burning into me. "And he also told me about how the night that she died. She never made it to work that night. They took her and used her as an experiment for the serum." Tears well up in my eyes as my dad takes a shaky breath, his own tears threatening to fall. "They thought she would be the first one who would live through it. But she didn't. They staged it to look like a work accident."

I can feel my dad's heart breaking from the passenger seat. He covers his eyes with his hand, sucking in a breath. I can't do anything but watch him as he tries so hard not to cry. I've already lost that control, tears pouring down my cheeks as I watch him break all over again. He opens the car door, getting out before slamming it shut and walking to the elevator. I don't follow right away, letting him go and do what he needs to do to heal.

I stay down in the garage, sitting in the passenger seat of the Audi for a while. It's warm, but I don't care, steam forming on the windows from my increased body temperature. I finally get out when Pepper comes down an hour later. I hastily wipe the tears from my eyes as she approaches the car.

"What did you tell him? He locked himself in his lab and won't let anyone in."

I look at her, sniffling. "I told him the truth."


	34. Letting Go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony has to learn to let go.

My dad doesn't come out of the lab for two days. Dr. Banner is the one who finally coaxes him out, using a bag of Burger King I had gone out to get. We don't tell him that of course, but he doesn't need to know the details. He looks about as well as I feel, deep circles under his bloodshot eyes, his skin pale, two days worth of stubble on his face. He hadn't looked like that in...well...a couple of months. Granted, I'd seen him look worse, but I knew I had been the cause of this one. I had chosen to tell him the truth. He had been so happy and doing so well and I had flipped that all on its head.

Bruce gets him down to the kitchen, getting him to eat some of the Burger King, getting him to talk a little. He's still broken, the bombs I'd dropped still fresh wounds. Pepper tries to comfort him, but he won't accept it. I had told her what I told my dad, not wanting to leave her in the dark. I knew my dad had told her about my mom already, and she deserved to know this too.

Pepper coaxes him to bed after he eats, Dr. Banner reassuring me he'll be alright, he just needs time. I had dropped some pretty big bombs and he had not been prepared for them. Part of me wonders if I made the right choice in telling him. He had wanted to know and I had warned him, but that stubborn Stark spirit came out again. He did deserve to know the truth, but I hadn't imagined the truth would hurt him this badly. Dr. Banner says he needs time, so that's what we were going to give him.

The rest of us go on with our daily lives while my dad floats around us in a haze. From his lab to the kitchen to bed and back around. I had thought the trip into space was hard on him, but this was an all new level of struggle. I was struggling too. Not just with having to watch my dad float mindlessly in pain, but also because I was bored. Normally if I got bored, I offered to help my dad in the lab, but I knew trying to talk to him now wouldn't do any good. That left me with nothing to do.

I was starting to regret leaving D.C. Getting everything off my chest and being there for my dad for the surgery had been nice, but I was starting to wonder if I should have taken Steve's offer and stayed. Being in D.C. hadn't been much different than New York, besides being smaller and being in an apartment instead of a tower. But while I was there, helping Steve with the dishes and making breakfast and having someone there to help made me feel important. Like I had a purpose. Here, I couldn't do any of that. Sure, I could cook and clean up my messes, but it was only for me. I wasn't doing it for anyone. I didn't have someone to help teach about the modern world and share stories with. I was alone.

It was another two weeks before my dad finally approached me. I had been in my room, sulking while I tried to figure out whether to leave or stay when he knocked on my door. I hadn't been expecting anyone and it took me by surprise.

"Come in."

I look up as he comes in, straightening up in shock. I start to prepare myself for a lot of reactions, yelling, crying, anger, denial. Anything my dad could throw at me, I would be ready.

He sits down at the end of my bed, looking at the pictures on my dresser. "I know I say this a lot, but I loved your mother more than anything. I gave up partying and drinking for her. Until my parents died and then the drinking started again. But I would have given the world for her. You're all I have left of her now. You're the last piece of her, a half that I've tried so hard not to let go of." He looks at me. "I'd give the world for you too, princess. I'd give up every last penny I had if it meant you'd be here with me. And I realized, in trying to keep you, I've only pushed you away. When you left with SHIELD I wasn't sure I could handle it. Pepper kept me from storming the facility and dragging you back home. I didn't think I was ready. But when I saw you again, how free you were, how strong and independent...you reminded me so much of your mother. Your mother was a free spirit. She hated being confined. That's part of the reason I hesitated in asking her to marry me. Then you came along and I knew I was going to do it then. But I hesitated again. And then I lost her. One day she was there, smiling at me, at some stupid joke I told and the next I was burying her beside my parents."

He pauses for a moment, standing so he can go to my dresser and look at the pictures. He browses over them before he comes to the one of me and him and coney island. He picks it up, coming back over to the bed.

"I'm glad you told me. I had no idea...and he had pretended like it never happened. I trusted him…" My dad shakes his head. "He's gone now. He's paid for his sins. Got what he deserved." He looks up at me. "I don't know if I'll ever be able to let your mother go. She was so important..such a vital part of me. But I have Pepper now. Pepper makes me feel things I haven't felt in a very long time. Parts of me that I thought had died with your mother are brought back when she's around. But there will always be a part of me that will cling to your mother. A part of me that will never forget her."

I sniffle, not even realizing that I had been crying. "I know. I wish she were still here. I wish I could have known her. She seemed so wonderful. But you have to move on, dad. She's stuck there, in that place with all those lost hopes and dreams. You don't have to forget her, but you know she'll never come back. She's gone, dad. But I'm right here, and Pepper's right here. We both love you. My mother loved you too. She still does, but you have to let her go, dad." Tears pool in his eyes and I reach out, taking his hand. "You have to let her go."

He sniffles, looking up at the wall and I know he's trying not to cry. He squeezes my hand, letting out a long exhale. "I have to let her go like I have to let you go."

I frown a little, wiping my tears with my free hand. "What do you mean?"

"You're miserable here. I can see it. You need that freedom like your mother did. So, I'm sending you back to D.C."

"What?"

My dad nods. "Pack some stuff cause you're going back." My dad stands up, putting the picture back on my dresser.

"Dad, I-"

"I don't like him very much. That's true. But I know I can trust him to keep you safe. I can put my faith in his old school beliefs and know that you'll be alright. You were just...so happy when you talked about staying there. And you deserve to have that happiness, not be playing Rapunzel here."

"Dad…"

"Pack a bag. I'm going to drive you to the airport. I've already arranged transportation for when you land."

I stand up, pulling my dad into a hug. "Thank you. I promise I'll call all the time and keep you updated."

He smiles. "Don't worry too much about it. And you know you'll always have a place here at the tower if you want to come visit."

I smile. "I know. Thank you, dad."

He kisses my head. "You're welcome princess. You deserve this happiness."

I pack a bag in record time, mainly just the essentials. Laptop, phone, underwear, basic clothes and shoes, toiletries. A lot of stuff I could just buy once I got there. I remembered to pack Steve's t-shirt, the one he had loaned me.

My dad gives me a lecture on boundaries and morals all the way to the airport, which I find rather ironic. The man who lived without either of those things was lecturing me on setting boundaries and keeping my morals in check. He also reminded me to not compromise Steve's morals as well. I wasn't really keen on being labeled the woman who corrupted Captain America. He was supposed to be Virgin-Mary-All-Holy-and-Good-and-Pure-Stars-and-Stripes Captain America. I wouldn't dare corrupt his morals.

My dad gets out of the car once we're at the airport, walking me on board, making sure I'm going to be alright. I reassure him, telling him I'll be fine, and promising to call when we land. He hugs me for a long time, holding me close. This goodbye was harder than the one before I'd left for SHIELD training had been. I knew I had the choice to go back to New York and see him whenever I wanted this time, but for some reason it was harder to let go.

He smiles at me when he pulls away. "Spread your wings and fly, my little butterfly."

"You choose the cheesiest line for a goodbye?"

He winks. "Only for you, princess."

I kiss his cheek. "Take care of yourself, alright?"

He kisses my head. "Always."

I watch him disappear, heading back down the stairs before the door is shut, the plane rumbling as it starts towards the runway. I take my seat, buckling myself in before we take to the sky, making the short flight to D.C.

I'm greeted by airport security when I land, the security officer waiting beside a rather nice looking Audi. I walk over and he holds out the keys to me.

"Your father had this delivered here, Miss Stark. He says it's yours."

I stare at the car in shock, looking between the security guard and the car a few times. "Really?"

He nods. "Yes, Miss Stark."

I squeal happily, taking the keys, running towards the door. "Thank you!" I get in, tossing my bag into the passenger seat before starting the engine. It purrs to life, a map popping up with directions to Steve's apartment. That was a nice touch because I would have no idea where to go.

I peel off of the tarmac, jumping into traffic, heading in the direction of Steve's apartment while calling my dad. We talk and I thank him for the car, since mine was now at the bottom of the ocean after the Mandarin sunk the mansion. That was one thing I was sad about. My dad had custom upgraded that car for me and I had loved it like a child. But this car was definitely nice too. I let my dad know I made it safely and I'm on my way to Steve's apartment. He already knows, of course, since he'd remotely downloaded JARVIS into the system. He wanted to make some changes in the future to it, but for now it would do just fine.

I hang up when I get close to Steve's apartment, parking out front for now. I grab my bag, an idea popping into my head and I grin, opening my bag before getting out, making my way inside. I sneak in as someone else leaves, making the mental note that I'll need keys eventually. I make my way up to Apartment 4, knocking on the door. I have no idea if he's home or even in town, but I wait, the door unlocking and opening.

"Hi Steve. I brought you your shirt back."


	35. Roommates

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve gets a surprise.

Steve's face is priceless. He was confused at first, staring from me to the shirt and back a few times before shock and surprise come next, and suddenly I'm crushed against his giant, warm, very muscular chest. One thing I learned that day: Steve Rogers gives very good hugs. If you ever get the chance, with his permission of course, hug him. It's like being wrapped in a very muscular cloud of warmth and rainbows.

He holds me for a few moments before letting me go, holding me at arms length. "I had no idea you were coming! Or that you would be back this soon!"

I shrug. "Yeah, it was kind of a spur of the moment decision."

"You dad knows you're here, right?"

I nod. "Yeah, he's the one who sent me, actually."

He seems to notice the bag on my shoulder. "How long are you staying?"

I shrug again. "Until you get tired of me."

A full blown smile breaks out on his face and I almost love it more than that ridiculously cute half smile. I can see the excitement on his face and I want to squeal and run around in circles and throw myself at him at how adorable it is. But I refrain and keep my normal Stark face on. He leads me inside, the boxes I'd seen before are gone. Things are laid out a little differently than they had been before, and he'd done a little decorating since my first visit.

"Yeah, I wanted to make it a little more..homey, you know?"

I smile. "It looks nice. Definitely got the vintage look down."

He smiles sheepishly. "Old habits die hard."

I grin. "No complaints here, though. Growing up around 'modern chic' decorating this is a welcome change."

He leads me to the guest room which would be my room. He says I can redecorate and move things around if I want. I tell him I'll have to get a feel for things first, unpacking my stuff from my bag. I make a mental list of stuff I'll need to get, putting my toiletries in my bathroom, which would be my own private one, seeing as he has his own bathroom in his room. I can tell he's over the moon, and just that thought makes me happy.

I take him out to dinner to celebrate, and he recommends a diner down the street. I never say no to diner food and we decide to walk it, after moving my car into Steve's parking spot. He drove around using a motorcycle so he parked next to the door usually so his spot was open. He looked rather impressed by the car, the sleek black Audi easily the nicest one in the lot. My dad always had to go the expensive route. But hey, when you have that kind of money, then why not?

Steve and I take a booth in the back, the diner thankfully not very full. I opt for lemonade to drink while Steve goes with coffee, black of course.

"You and my dad, the strong few who can stand black coffee."

He gives me that adorable half smile. "Not much of a coffee drinker?"

I shake my head. "Not a coffee drinker at all. Don't really like the way it makes me feel."

Steve nods. "I never used to be able to drink it. Too many heart problems to handle caffeine."

It was hard to imagine Steve as a skinny little runt with a slew of health problems. But that's who he had been before he became Captain America. He was a marvel of the scientific community, a man who could never be replicated in any way, including his personality. He was definitely a refreshing presence in a world of assholes.

Our dinner goes without incident, Steve and I laughing as we walk back to the apartment. I had been telling him ridiculous stories about my dad and growing up with him. It was nice, talking to someone who had no bias on how I was raised and all the drama that happened during that time. He would find out eventually, but it was nice getting to tell him my point of view before he got the world's.

Both of us hit the sack early, Steve usually going to bed early due to being an early riser and I was exhausted from my emotional day. Steve had promised to be quiet the next morning, but I told him I can pretty much sleep through anything, including my dad working in the garage so I probably wouldn't even notice if he made noise.

I didn't. He got up and left the apartment and I hadn't even noticed. I'd just slept on without even a care. He hadn't told me where he was going to go, but I assume being Captain America, he could take care of himself.

I head to the kitchen when I get up, raiding Steve's pantry until I find pancake mix. I decide on making breakfast, cutting up some banana to put in the pancakes. I don't know how many Steve will eat, but I assume he has to have a pretty decent appetite from the serum so I make a lot of batter, cooking some eggs while I'm at it.

Now, before you say anything, yes I can cook. You get bored sitting around the house sometimes and having a personal chef to give you lessons was kind of a bonus. I know how to cook more than people give me credit for.

Steve comes back not too long after I start, dressed in a t-shirt and a pair of jogging pants, glistening with sweat. Normally I have issues with sweaty people, but on Steve...I didn't mind it too much.

"Hey, you're up!" He goes to the fridge, grabbing a bottle of water.

I nod. "Yup! And you're sweaty. Did you go to the gym?"

He shakes his head. "No, just for a run. SHIELD supplies me with the gym training."

I give him a look. "So you decided to go with SHIELD?"

He nods. "Yeah. It pays the bills and really, what else am I going to do? It's kind of the only thing I've ever done professionally."

I flip a pancake. "Well, you already know my dad is more than willing to cover some bills. But, don't you have anything you ever wanted to do? You know, like a dream?"

He smiles, leaning against the counter. "I wanted to be an artist. Make animated pictures like Walt Disney."

My face breaks out into a grin before I can stop it. "Steve Rogers, the artist. Who knew?"

He blushes a little. "No one, really. Well, a couple did, but…" He trails off.

They're gone. He doesn't have to say it, but I know that's what he's implying.

"Why don't you do it now?"

He shrugs. "The world's a lot bigger now. Plus, I don't know if I could sit back and watch a fight happen right in front of me. The world needs Captain America right now."

I smile, plating the pancakes. "Well, you always have art to fall back on in case the day comes when the world doesn't need Captain America."

He smiles. "I'll keep that in mind."

Turns out Steve eats like a machine all the time. It's a good thing I made extra batter because he ate it all. I was rather impressed. I mean, at Christmas he'd put down half a ham, but it was Christmas. Who doesn't eat that much? But it turns out, he eats like that all the time. It was a good thing we'd come to the agreement that I would be taking care of buying the food. Well, my dad would, but I had the credit card.

I wash the dishes while Steve showers and gets ready to go to SHIELD for a day of training. I was making a mental list of stuff I needed to go out and buy. Steve was already short on food, as he hadn't gone shopping for the week yet. I tried to think of some recipes that were easy and would feed Steve's never ending appetite. I also planned to stop and get some stuff to decorate my new bedroom. Not that it wasn't nice already, but it was slightly too plain for me. I blame growing up around expensive artwork. I also planned to stop and get some cleaning supplies. Steve kept his apartment completely clean and clear of dust and dirt and so I was determined to help him keep it that way. Sure it was rather house-wifey of me. But I had come here for that reason. To live a normal life and get a taste of everything I had missed growing up. And if that meant playing housewife to Captain America, then so be it.


	36. How Deep Is The Ocean?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve and Zinny adjust to life together and figure out some things.

Life was going well, living in D.C. Steve and I had settled into a rhythm, his morning jogs while I made breakfast before sending him off to SHIELD training while I cleaned and took care of the apartment and any errands that needed to be done. He'd come home to dinner, except for the few times where he'd text me telling me he'd be gone for a few days on a mission. He'd always come back, tired and beat up, but otherwise okay.

I'd be lying if I said I didn't worry about him while he was away on missions. Hell, I worried about him while he was training. I knew he was tough and he had chosen to do this, but I still worried that something would happen. That I'd be jinxed again and this perfect little world we'd created would be torn away. Steve had already been through so much, the thought of him losing this sense of normalcy made a painful knife twist itself into my gut. That, and I was terrified of losing Steve.

Yeah, I had fallen that hard.

We had gotten closer over the past few months, more physically comfortable around each other. Steve was still the perfect gentleman, but we were more relaxed around each other now. Our spots on opposite sides of the couch had been abandoned for sitting next to each other in the middle. We stood closer when we cooked together, not afraid to squeeze around each other. If anyone who didn't know us had seen us together, they might have thought we were a couple. But we weren't.

I wanted us to be though. I was afraid to make the first move, terrified that I would be too forward and scare him away. But I was also worried that if I didn't make the first move, it would never happen. We were stuck, and I wasn't sure whether or not he wanted things to move forward. I was determined to find that out.

Steve had weekends off of training unless he was away on a mission. We had spent the day inside, Steve hiding from the masses since the Smithsonian museum had got him to agree to doing an exhibit on him. He had finally revealed his secret identity to the world. It was a big deal for him, but I promised I'd be there to fight of paparazzi. I'd been doing that my whole life.

I was currently sitting in front of the TV, watching the news while Steve worked on my hair. My hair was always a constant battle, and with the humidity of the summer it was even worse. I had all but given up that night when Steve had offered to help.

"Steve Rogers knows how to do hair. Who'd a thunk that."

Steve shrugs, running the comb through my curls section by section. "I used to be around showgirls all the time. I got a lot of experience doing hair."

"None of them had hair like me though." I didn't mean to sound disappointed, but I had seen the tapes. None of the girls had looked like me.

"Not exactly. But there were some with some pretty stubborn curls. All it takes is some patience and the right kind of comb."

I must have not seemed very convinced because he stops, and I can feel him lean over me a little. "Hey, don't compare yourself to them." I lean back, looking up at him. "You're far more beautiful than any of them ever were."

I don't completely believe him, but I can't help but smile. "Thank's Steve."

I straighten back up, letting Steve continue to work while I watch the TV. The news anchor was talking about the exhibit and how there was no news about what Steve Rogers was doing currently. Currently he was trying to get a comb unstuck from the venus comb trap I called my hair.

"You know there's going to be rumors."

He pauses in brushing my hair, and I can sense his question without him even having to ask.

"As soon as someone sees us out together, there's going to be a flood of rumors. Are we dating? How long have we been together? Does my dad know we're together or are we in a secret relationship? How does my dad feel about his daughter dating one of his fellow Avengers? Stuff along those lines."

Steve's silent for a while, working the rest of the way through my hair, before braiding it back for me. His fingers are rough and calloused as they brush against my neck, and I can't help the goosebumps that form on my skin. The thought of those fingers all over my skin have my stomach twisting in a delicious way. I fight back the blush that threatens to form on my face, focusing on the news reporter's ridiculously bright shirt instead.

"You think there will be a lot of rumors?"

I nod. "Yup. The press is going to go crazy. Of course it'll blow over in a couple weeks, but there's going to be a lot of crazy press trying to follow us, figure out what's going on."

"Is there any way to prevent that?"

"Besides hiding out here and not going out in public together for a long time? Not really. But if it does happen, the quickest way to get rid of it is to just face it head on and tell the truth."

"And what would we tell them?"

"Can't a guy and a girl be friends? Go out and do stuff together and have it not be a date? I'll just have to do damage control and try to make sure my dad doesn't make things worse by being himself as usual."

Steve is silent as he finishes my hair, deciding to call it a night early. I can't help the nerves that eat away at my stomach all night long, the fear that I'd said too much and had already driven him away before I could even tell him how I feel.

Steve is up early the next morning as usual. But instead of a quiet apartment, I hear music playing. I had gotten Steve a record player for his birthday so he could play his records. One of them was currently playing, one of Steve's favorites.

I slide out of bed wearing one of Steve's shirts and a pair of leggings. I head towards the door, barefoot as I make my way into the kitchen. Steve's standing at the fridge, looking through it.

"Someone's in a mood this morning."

Steve turns around, smiling at me as he holds a carton of strawberries. "Yeah, I was just doing some thinking."

I slip into the kitchen, grabbing the orange juice as Steve slices some strawberries to put on the French toast that was currently cooking on the stove. "What kind of thinking?"

He smiles. "Oh, you know, just about life."

I snort. "That's rather specific."

He smiles, sprinkling some powdered sugar on the French toast before handing me a plate. "Eat up. There's plenty."

I know he's avoiding talking about something, but I brush it off as I carry my plate and the orange juice to the table. He plates up his half a loaf of French toast before joining me, and we eat while listening to the record play. I can tell there's something on Steve's mind as we eat. He tries to distract himself with the newspaper, but I can tell he's not really paying attention to what he's reading.

The song changes, one of my dad's favorites coming on. The Irving Berlin classic "Cheek to Cheek." I grin, standing up, offering Steve my hand. He looks at my hand, up to my face before looking back and forth a few times.

I giggle. "Dance with me!"

He stutters a little. "I've never...I haven't...I don't know…"

I gape at him. "You don't know how to dance?" He shakes his head, his cheeks pink. "Come on. I'm teaching you." I grab his hands, pulling him up.

I get him in the right place, putting his hand on my back before taking his other hand, starting to sway a little to the beat of the music. He does surprisingly well, not even stepping on my toes. We dance through the song, and it changes to a different one, "How Deep is the Ocean?" I smile, leaning in closer to him, letting him lead.

"Do you want to tell me what you were thinking about?"

He's silent for a moment. "What you said yesterday. About the rumors." My stomach drops a little. "I've been living with rumors about who Captain America is since New York. If he was the original or if he was a descendant. And now the truth is out. In my experience, though it's not much, it's always better if the rumors are true."

I smirk a little bit, butterflies fluttering in my stomach as I turn my head to look at him. "What are you implying, Captain?"

He smiles a little. That ridiculously cute half smile that I love. "That this one should be true before it even gets a chance to be a rumor."

It takes me a moment to make sense of his words. We're still dancing swaying to another romantic Irving Berlin song, Steve's grip around me tighter than it had been. Our breaths are mixing with how close our faces are, and I can see the bit of green in his blue eyes.

"Do you mean…"

He cuts me off, leaning in to press his lips to mine.


	37. What Happens Now?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve and Zinny have to figure things out.

Did I feel like a Disney Princess in that moment? You bet your ass I did. I'm sure we looked ridiculous, both in our pajamas and barefoot, 30's romance music playing on a record player while we stood there, but it was better than I could have ever imagined.

Steve's lips are soft and gentle as they press against mine, and I can feel the hesitation there. It's slightly awkward as I have to stand on my toes to reach his lips, even when he bends down. His hand is hot against my back, his grip firm. His other hand is closed around mine, pulling in against his chest. I press close to him, his body radiating heat like a personal sun. Did my foot lift into the air like in Princess Diaries? Maybe. I wasn't really paying that much attention.

I pull away a few moments later, breathing heavy as we both stand there. I bite my lip, my eyes fluttering open to meet his own blue ones. My heart is racing in my chest as I stare at him, and I can see the uncertainty in his eyes.

"Was that alright?"

I smile. "That was more than alright."

He smiles that ridiculous half smile. "Good. Because I'd like to do that again."

I smile, leaning in. "I'd like you to do that again too."

Our lips meet a second time, this kiss a little more sure. I can tell he's inexperienced, his movements stiff and unsure as I wrap my arms around his neck. His free hand moves to my back, adding to the warmth there. Even as I pull away a second time, pressing our foreheads together I can tell he's unsure of what to do next.

"Kiss anyone recently?"

He's panting lightly. "Not since the 40's."

I smile. "Then you've got a lot to learn." I drop back down to my feet, my legs aching from being on my toes so long. "And we need to talk about this too."

The record stops playing, getting to the end of the track and the apartment is suddenly far too quiet. I take Steve's hand, leading him over to the couch, sitting down with him. I tuck my knees up to my chest, Steve sitting so he's facing forward. I look at the side of his face, taking in his profile. His strong jaw, those impossibly long eyelashes. He really was perfect.

"I don't want this to make things weird between us." I start. "You know, going from roommates to romantically involved."

He turns to look at me then. "I've been wanting to do this for a while but I was too worried that it would make things weird. But as long as you're alright with it, I am too."

I nod. "I am. I just don't want things too move too quickly."

Steve nods. "We'll move as fast as you're comfortable with. I don't want to make you feel like you're being pressured into anything."

I smile. "Thank you. I...I've never really done relationships before."

Steve glances at me. "You haven't?"

I shake my head. "I never really found anyone that was interesting enough to me."

Steve smiles a little. "Looks like we're going to be experiencing a lot of firsts together."

I frown. "You too?"

He nods. "Believe it or not. Before no one was really interested in me when I was skinny. And I had so many health problems I only really worried about getting through the day without any complications. Then after the serum I never really had time. I was too busy touring and then fighting. There was one…"

"Peggy?"

He has a shocked look on his face. "You know about Peggy?"

I smile. "I know Peggy. She's my dad's godmother. I've met her a few times."

Steve nods slowly. "I knew about Howard and Peggy creating SHIELD. But there was nothing about what happened outside of that."

"My dad could tell you better than I could. I never even got to meet my grandparents. But they stayed close after you went into the ice. Close enough for Peggy to be my dad's godmother. He still visits her sometimes." I take his hand. "She used to talk about you. She never fully moved on." I can see the emotion in his face even though he's not looking at me. "You don't have to talk about it. And don't worry, I'm not going to be one of those jealous girlfriends. I know you'll always have a place in your heart for Peggy."

He turns to me and I can tell he's fighting back tears. "Thank you, Zinny."

I smile, letting my fingers brush his cheek. "You're welcome, Steve. I know it can't be easy for you, still. I just want to help you as much as I can."

He pulls me closer to him like I weigh nothing, which to him that was probably true. He wraps his arms around me, pulling me in close to his chest. "You're amazing, you know that?"

I grin, blushing a little. "You're too sweet, Steve."

"I'm serious. You're amazing." His thumb brushes my cheek, and I stare up into his eyes. "I don't know where I'd be right now if it wasn't for you."

I smile. "Well, probably very lonely."

He grins. "Probably. But very lost too."

I smile, kissing his cheek. "Hey, I wasn't about to let you flounder at the confusing modern stuff."

I can see a little pink on his cheeks. "Like microwaves."

I giggle. "Like microwaves."

I lay my head on his shoulder, playing with the fingers on his hand. We're both content to just sit there in silence for a while. Well, I was. Steve had a never ending supply of energy and he hadn't gone for a run to expel some of it this morning. I wondered if he would have that stamina in bed, if we ever got that far. If it were true, there'd be no way I'd be able to keep up with him. I couldn't even keep up with him when he was doing his determined walk. There was definitely still a lot we had to figure out about this relationship. Like how we were going to tell my dad.

Steve shifts a little and I sit up, looking up at him. He leans down, pressing his lips to mine for a third time. The kiss is soft and sweet, and I was definitely ready to sit there and do that all day too, but Steve has other ideas. He pulls away, releasing me before getting up. He stretches his arms over his head, giving me a front row seat to what he's hiding under his t-shirts. He'd always been a perfect gentleman, never walking around in anything less than a t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants. Even then he'd looked uncomfortable, preferring to lounge around in jeans.

Occasionally he still wore his slacks, but I had taken him shopping and gotten him a completely new wardrobe, full of jeans and t-shirts and shoes that weren't loafers. He had refused the expensive jeans my dad preferred and so we'd looked at Levi's instead. Levi's had been around forever and he looked more comfortable in that department. Once we had found a style he liked, the original 501's of course, I'd bought them out of every one of his size in every color. Steve had insisted he didn't need that many pairs of pants, but I had bought them anyways. I had also bought him enough shirts to fill an entire dresser. Steve was a plain shirt kind of guy so I'd bought five in every neutral color and blues I could find. Steve had complained about the cost of all of it, but I had reassured him it wouldn't even make a dent in my dad's bank account. He probably wouldn't even notice. (He didn't.)

Needless to say, Steve still dressed conservatively around the house, even now that we were dating. Not that I would have minded if he walked around in nothing but his underwear. But he still insisted on being the perfect gentleman. Always the perfect gentleman. Me on the other hand, I preferred to be comfortable. Whether it was sweatpants and a sweatshirt or shorts and a tank top, I wore it without shame. The apartment was always cool, Steve's body temperature keeping him warm on cool nights while I was piled under five blankets. I didn't mind as much now though, as it was getting into summer and getting hot. Steve kept the apartment at a crisp 65 degrees, which he said beat out sweltering in the summer like he used to. Central heating and air were a new thing to him, as back then you piled on the blankets in the winter and slept naked in the summer. The idea of Steve sleeping naked was mind boggling to me. I didn't know if he still did that, if that habit was as hard to kick as some of the others. I had never even been inside his room. That was his personal space and I didn't want to intrude on it. But that had been back before we were dating. I still told myself I wouldn't enter his room without being invited first.

As it turns out, I was going to break that rule sooner than I thought I would.


	38. Closer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zinny works through some insecurity as she and Steve grow closer.

It takes me a minute to figure out why I had woken up in the middle of the night. Steve and I had officially been together for almost a week now, but we had agreed to sleep in our own rooms for the time being, not wanting to push things too quickly. But for some reason that morning, around two o'clock, I had woken up. I lay there still, listening for any sign that something is off, but the apartment is silent as usual. I shrug it off, settling back down in the covers, ready to fall back asleep when I hear it. A groan breaks the silence of the apartment. I hold my breath, my heart starting to pound as I wait, another one coming shortly after, followed by a pained whimper.

I slide out of bed, my feet padding quietly across the floor as I open my door, slipping out into the dark hallway. The light from the streetlamp outside on the sidewalk below the apartment shines through the window, casting a little light, but not much. I make my way down the hallway to Steve's door. It's cracked open as usual, and I can hear the rustle of the sheets as he moves around. I peek in the door, Steve's body twisted in an unusual position as he pants softly, the sheets kicked off the end of the bed. He twitches, his hands gripping at the pillow under his head.

"Buck, no…"

He turns on his back, and in the light coming in the window I can see the frown on his face. I slip in his door, quietly padding over to the bed. He was having a nightmare, something to do with Bucky. I slowly reach out, touching his arm.

"Steve?" Nothing. I put my hand on his forearm, feeling his racing pulse under my fingers. "Steve, wake up. It's just a dream. Steve-"

I barely have time to get a protective shield around myself, stopping his fist that would have hit me right in the face. I knew he'd never actually hit me in his right mind. Steve didn't have it in him to be violent towards a woman. So when my energy shield stopped his fist inches from my face, I couldn't place the blame on him. He'd been having a nightmare and I had woken him. Of course he'd lash out. He was so in tune to protecting himself it was second nature to him.

He lowers his fist as his body relaxes and I drop the shield. He's panting, and I can see his shirt sticking to his chest from the sweat. He runs his hand over his face, looking up at me in the darkness. I know he could probably see me better than I could see him, and the light was behind me.

"Zinny?"

I nod. "You were having a nightmare. I'm sorry if I startled you."

He sighs, running his hand through his hair. He'd cut it recently, changing his style to a more modern one. "I'm sorry that I woke you."

It wasn't the first time I'd witnessed him having a nightmare. Before I had always woken up when he did, and I had laid there and listened to him go out to the kitchen to get some water before going back to bed. I had never woken up during one of his nightmares before. But this one had been a bad one.

I sit down on the edge of his bed, putting my hand over his. "It's alright. I understand. I haven't been through half of what you have and I still get nightmares."

I hadn't told him everything. He knew the basics, I had been kidnapped with my dad in Afghanistan and we had escaped using the first model of the Iron Man armor. I had been kidnapped again a few months later and experimented on with the drug that had killed my mother, only to survive and get powers. The incident at the Grand Prix in Monaco, getting kidnpped and having a bomb strapped to my chest, leaving my dad to train with SHIELD. But I hadn't gone into detail, just like there was a lot that I didn't know about what he'd gone through too.

It was ridiculous, but I was scared to tell him. I knew Steve respected strong women. I'd heard the way he talked about Natasha during their training. I'd seen the way they'd interacted around each other back during the battle in New York. I was scared to tell Steve about what happened because I was scared he'd think of me as some helpless damsel. I was scared it would cause him to lose interest in me. He could easily turn around and go for someone like Natasha. She's strong, smart, beautiful, all around badass. Just like Peggy had been. I can't help but shake the feeling that I'm the total opposite of the kind of women Steve had an interest in. Maybe I had been getting my hopes up too much that this relationship would work. Or maybe I was just being ridiculous.

"Hey." Steve pulls me out of my thoughts. "You've been through a lot too. Don't try to compare yourself to me." He squeezes my hand. "You should go back to bed. Try to get some more sleep."

"Are you sure you don't want company?"

He shakes his head. "I'll be alright."

I nod. "Okay. I'm going to go make some tea. Do you want some?"

He nods "Sure. That would be great."

I get off the bed, making my way to the kitchen, starting the kettle. I pull out the herbal tea I had bought for instances like this where I knew I wasn't going to get back to sleep on my own. I brew a couple of cups, carrying one back to Steve's room. His bathroom door is shut and there's a light on underneath. I can hear water running in the sink. I pull his blankets back onto the bed from the floor after setting his cup on his nightstand, hesitating for a moment before going back to my own room. I didn't feel right, leaving him alone, but that's what he wanted. So I wasn't going to push him.

Breakfast is quiet the next morning. Steve had gotten up early to go for a run and I had gotten up to make breakfast. Steve reads the newspaper while I flip through some tabloids on my tablet. Nothing interesting was going on, nothing that was true at least.

Steve kisses me goodbye before going to his training for the day, leaving me alone in the apartment. I relax for the day, stretching out on the couch and turning on the TV, finding some ridiculous reality show to watch. I burn away a few brain cells, shaking my head at the ridiculousness of some people, deciding to order some pizza for dinner. I don't know when Steve will be home so I order a few boxes, shocking the delivery boy when there's only one of me collecting six pizza boxes. I tip him generously, setting five of the boxes on the counter before taking one to the couch with me.

Steve comes back a couple hours later, finding the pizza staying warm in the oven. I was still stretched out on the couch, an almost empty pizza box in front of me. He goes to shower, greeting me on his way. I had switched to a cooking show, watching chefs trying to make dishes out of ridiculous ingredients, most of which I didn't even know existed.

Steve comes back with a plate piled high of pizza, sitting by my feet on the couch. It's silent as he eats and watches the show with me. I knew I was being ridiculous, but I couldn't help but feel something was off. Maybe it was what happened last night, and my ever growing insecurity that I couldn't push aside. How long would it take Steve to realize I'm not the one for him? How long until he leaves me for someone else, someone more his type? How long until I'm left heartbroken and empty, forced to go back to my dad and keep him from caving Steve's head in for breaking my heart. After I tell him we had been dating. I still hadn't done that.

Steve pulls me out of my mind as he starts to rub my feet, working his strong fingers over my arches. I moan a little in pleasure at the feeling, glancing down at him. He's staring at the TV, working his hands over my feet. I relax a little, his hands working their way to my ankles, working the muscles loose there too.

His hands leave my ankles as I sit up, shifting so I'm leaning against his side. He wraps an arm around me, pulling me in close. He's warm and smells so good, like Ivory soap and Old Spice. I can hear his heart beating from where I'm sitting, strong and steady under my ear. It's relaxing, my own heart rate dropping to match his, my breathing evening out. I could have fallen asleep there, curled up against Steve's side. He was warm, comforting and I felt safe in his arms. I felt like nothing could hurt me there. All the pain I'd endured, all the fear I still carried, none of it mattered then. Steve would keep me safe.

I hadn't realized I'd fallen asleep until I wake up as I'm being tucked into bed. Steve's tucking the blankets up around me, making sure I'm comfortable. It's sweet and I can't help but feel the emotions welling up inside at the gesture. No one had tucked me into bed in a long time. Not since my dad and I came back from Afghanistan. And that had been a rare occurrence on one of the nights where I'd had a nightmare and couldn't go back to sleep.

I grab Steve's hand, pulling it to my face. He smiles down at me, stroking my cheek. "Go back to sleep. It's late."

I smile up at him. "Thank you."

He leans down, kissing me softly. "You're welcome. Get some rest."

I smile, closing my eyes as he kisses my head, leaving my room and closing the door. I wanted to ask him to stay, but I was worried it would be too much. We had only been together for a week, and I didn't want to push things. This would have been easier if we weren't living together already. But I couldn't do anything about that. I wasn't about to move out. I hadn't felt this free or important in a long time. I was willing to suffer through hormones like a teenager if it meant staying with Steve. I would do anything for him.

If it came down to it, I'd die for him.


	39. The Press Find Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zinny plays hero. The press find out about their relationship. Tony sends a threatening message.

Steve and I had been together for about three weeks. It was getting close to his birthday and I was planning a big surprise for him. Well, kind of a big surprise. He said unless a mission came up last minute, he'd have the holiday weekend off. I planned a trip to New York so we could see my dad and finally tell him about us, and we could visit Coney Island and watch the fireworks over the East River. I, of course, hadn't told him any of this, not wanting to get him excited until I knew for sure we'd be able to go. If SHIELD needed him after July 2nd, they'd have to find someone else to fill his spot. He was going to be busy.

Steve was currently at SHIELD training, and I was doing errands for the day. We were out of milk and I wanted to pick up some stuff for dinner. So I had walked the few blocks to the supermarket, enjoying the cool morning.

I hadn't been in the store very long, not even long enough to grab some milk when all hell broke loose. The first shot had everyone scrambling in panic. I ducked down instinctively, people screaming and running towards the back of the store. I could hear a booming male voice yelling for nobody to move from the front of the store. I slowly crawl my way in that direction, pulling out my phone.

I get to the end of the isle, peeking out towards the front and I can see the man in the mask, gun pointed towards a cashier as she pulls all the money out, putting it in a bag. The other cashiers are huddled in their lanes, a few shoppers stuck there as well. I can hear people in the back of the store, making their way towards the exits. As far as I could see no one was hurt. Yet.

The man with the gun is alone, and from what I can see he only has the one weapon on him. A single handgun to rob a grocery store. Dude must have been desperate. He moves down the line of cashiers, getting closer to my position. He didn't seem to be paying any attention to the customers yet, so if I could act at just the right moment, I could give them a chance to get out, along with the other employees.

I had only done this once before, back when I was training with SHIELD. Making an energy shield around myself was easy, but making one around another person was something else entirely. It required focus and enough energy to send it outward from my body and concentrate it around that person. I couldn't shield every single civilian but the gunman, but I could put a shield around the gunman so he would be unable to hurt anyone else until the police came. If it didn't work, at least his attention would be on me long enough to let some of them escape.

Unfortunately I took too much time to make my plan, a civilian standing up. He's an older man, more than likely miliary. I can see it in his stance, the confidence he has standing up to the man with a gun. I have to change my plan, the gunman pointing his gun at the older man. I can tell the gunman doesn't want to shoot, his hand shaking slightly as he holds the gun.

"Put the gun down, son. No one has to get hurt." The older man is trying to talk the gunman down, but I can see it's not working.

I have seconds to get myself in front of the older man, getting an energy shield up just as the gunman fires. The bullet ricochets off the shield harmlessly, and I pray the bullet doesn't hit someone else. Thankfully, a few of the shoppers at the front take the gunman's distraction to run for it out the front doors, and I try to keep his attention on me, protecting the people behind me. Unfortunately the gunman wasn't stupid enough to waste all his bullets trying to shoot through the shield.

"Put the gun down now." I say, keeping the shield up, the gunman still pointing his gun at me.

"I'm sorry, I can't do that."

I can hear the police sirens getting close. "This doesn't have to end badly. Just drop the gun and surrender yourself to the police."

"I'm not going back to jail."

He goes to make a run for it, but he's not fast enough. Before he can get his hand around the bag of cash, I've got an energy shield around him, keeping him where he is. Thankfully he's not dumb enough to try and shoot at the shield, otherwise that would end badly for him. I take a few steps closer to him, as he angrily hits at the shield. Each hit is like a migraine throbbing, but I manage to hold the shield up, letting everyone else escape the store. I toss the bag of cash away from him in case he breaks the shield, not wanting to give him the chance to make it out anyways.

"If you don't want to go back to jail, you probably shouldn't go around robbing stores."

He sneers at me. "You're a freak."

I can tell his words are aimed to hurt, but they just pass over me like a breeze. "Eh, I've been called worse."

The police come in seconds later, guns drawn, obviously surprised to see the two of us. The robber drops his gun at the police's request and puts his hand up, and I let the energy shield drop, allowing the police to take it from there. I leave the store, giving the police officer a statement. He obviously knew who I was, not asking about the powers. Everyone knew at this point.

"Zinny!" I turn on my heel, Steve rushing over.

"Steve?" I frown in confusion. He was supposed to be training right now.

He scoops me into his arms, pressing his lips to mine in a kiss. It's desperate and I can feel the worry as he holds me tightly.

I pull away from him a little, looking up into his eyes. "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be training?"

"SHIELD heard about what happened. Apparently someone in the store told an operator about a powered person involved. That tipped SHIELD off and when I saw it was you in the cameras I had to come down here and make sure you were alright."

I frown a little. "SHIELD can tap into security cameras? Nevermind, I'm just going to forget I ever heard that." I shake my head. Now I was going to be paranoid.

"Are you alright? Are you hurt?"

I shake my head. "No. No one was hurt. Well, the robber's pride maybe, but he'll get over that. It's his own fault for trying to pull something like that."

Steve smiles, pulling me into his arms. "I'm glad you were there to stop him."

I smile, laying my head on his chest. "I'm glad my powers worked for once."

"That's her! That's the young lady who saved my life!"

I turn around, Steve dropping his arms as the older man I had saved from getting shot comes over, a young woman in tow.

"You're the one who saved my grandpa's life?"

I nod. "Yes, that's me."

She pulls me into a hug. I try not to be surprised by it, awkwardly hugging her back. "Thank you so much. I was so worried. I had gone back to grab something we forgot and got swept out the back in the panicking crowd. I didn't know if he was still alive or not."

I smile a little. "He was very brave, standing up to the robber like he did. But I wasn't about to let anyone get hurt."

The older man smiles at me, shaking my hand. "The world needs more heroes like you. I don't think we should fear people with powers when they're like you."

I smile. "Thank you. If only everyone had a mindset like you."

"It comes with experience and age." He winks at me, making me laugh.

"Thank you again. This could have ended badly if it wasn't for you." The older man's granddaughter hugs me again before they leave.

I watch them go, Steve wrapping his arms around me from behind. I smile, leaning back against his chest.

"Did you hear that? You're a hero now."

I smile, turning in his arms, wrapping my arms around his neck. "Am I? Does saving a supermarket from a gunman constitute me being a hero?"

Steve grins, kissing me softly. "Yes. It does."

I kiss him back, standing on my toes to reach his lips. It's a sweet kiss, the adrenaline from what had just happened starting to wear off as I lean against him. It's a perfect moment, until the telltale flash encompases us.

I pull away from Steve, turning to face the camera man that had just caught Steve and I. I knew it would only be a matter of minutes before this was all over the internet and on tabloids.

"Zinnia Stark and Captain America? Oh man, this is too good!" He continues to snap pictures of us until I send a small wave of energy his way, knocking him back into the parking lot.

"This is our chance. Go!"

Steve and I make a break for it, heading to his motorcycle, parked out in the parking lot. Neither of us have helmets, but neither of us care as we hop on, Steve zooming into traffic and away from the crime scene and the reporter. A part of me hopes the reporter's camera was broken when he fell, but I know better to hope for something like that. I had already pressed my luck for the day. I wasn't about to pray for more.

I had been right, my phone blowing up with notifications before we even get into the apartment. Hot news stories with the picture of Steve and I kissing in front of the supermarket that had just been robbed all over the internet. TMZ was promising juicy details on our relationship, most of which were going to be false, seeing as the only thing anyone had gotten was a photograph of us together. I was already getting messages asking to do interviews and make comments about the new relationship, most of which I ignored.

The biggest message though was from my dad. The most important person in my life outside of Steve, who I had neglected to tell about my relationship with Steve, was finding out from the press. I had royally screwed up this one.

The message is simple, and threatening. I almost wanted to throw my phone out the window, but I knew that would only prompt my dad coming here in person and that would be worse. I didn't even have an inkling of what to say to him. "Hi, how have you been, oh by the way, Steve and I are dating and have been for a month. Sorry I didn't tell you before the press found out." Yeah, that was going to go over well. I was dating the man that my dad had grown up despising due to my grandfather's pride and joy being Steve and not his own son. The man my father had immediately butted heads with upon meeting. Yeah, we had all been under Loki's influence, but I could tell there would always be a sense of disdain there from my dad.

And I was staring at the most terrifying message I had ever gotten from said man with disdain for the man I was dating. I was tempted to ignore it, but I knew that wouldn't end well either. So there it was, staring me in the face, two simple words that were about to change this entire situation in one of two ways. The simplest message that was inducing so much panic.

The message:

" _Call me."_


	40. Better Than Expected

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zinny calls Tony and tells him the truth. Steve and Zinny get closer.

My dad is not happy. I didn't even have time to get out a "Hello" before he was already going off. Honestly, I couldn't blame him. This was not at all how I expected him to find out, and definitely knew there would be plenty of yelling. True, I hadn't been planning to tell him until we visited for Steve's birthday, but even then it would have been better than finding out via the press. I'd gone over a million times how to tell him, but I had never worked up the balls to. Now I guess that had been taken care of for me.

" _Zinnia Rose Stark, what the hell?"_ Already starting with the yelling. I could almost see the vein in his forehead sticking out.

I decide to try and play things cool. Maybe if I acted calm he would calm down too. "Hi dad. How are you?"

" _How am I? My phone is blowing up with messages asking for comments on your relationship with STEVE ROGERS!"_

Obviously my plan doesn't work. I have to hold the phone away from my ear he's yelling so loud.. Steve glances at me from his spot at the table and I know he can hear my dad too. "Um...we had planned on telling you eventually…"

" _Eventually? How long is eventually? When you're married and have two kids already?"_

"We would tell you before that! I was just worried that this kind of reaction would happen."

" _Oh, well it's happening because I had to find out through the press that my daughter is dating the man that my father obsessed relentlessly about."_

"Well, at least you found out!"

I can practically hear his look through the phone. " _How long?"_

I cringe and he's not even in front of me. "Almost a month…"

" _You've been dating almost a month and you hadn't told me? Zinnia, I thought I raised you better than that."_

"You actually didn't give me any advice on dating. Except not to date like you."

He's silent for a moment. " _Touche. But my point is, you should have told me, okay?"_

"I know. I'm sorry. We wanted to, we just were so busy and then got distracted…"

" _Okay, way too much detail."_

"Dad! It's nothing like that…"

" _Uh huh. So was this a mutual decision or did you come to the conclusion through a little hands on anatomy lesson?"_

I can see Steve blushing from the table and I already know I'm blushing as well. "Dad! We haven't done anything like that yet. Steve's a perfect gentleman."

" _Of course he is. A bit old though. Old enough to be your grandfather."_

"Yeah, in the literal sense. But biologically he's not that old."

" _Still a little weird. But if you're happy then I can't do anything about it."_

I'm stunned. "Wait...really?"

" _Yup. If Steve makes you happy and he's as much of a gentleman as you claim then I can't do anything to ruin this relationship. As much as I hate it. You deserve a shot at being happy and if this is it, then I'll just have to deal with it."_

"Pepper's sitting next to you, isn't she?"

" _Yes and she's giving me the evil eye."_

I giggle. "Thank you, dad. Even if you don't completely mean it, thank you."

" _You're welcome, Little Flower."_

"Oh, um, we're planning on being in New York for Steve's birthday in a couple of weeks."

" _Great. His floor is still open and so is your room."_ I don't miss the implications.

I smile. "Thanks, Dad. We'll see you then."

" _Okay. Don't do anything I wouldn't do. And don't do anything I would either."_

I shake my head, saying my goodbyes before hanging up. Steve moves over to the couch, moving my legs so they're over his lap.

"He took that well."

I smirk, putting my phone on the coffee table. "I think he's saving it for when he sees us in person. You better take your shield. You might need it."

Steve smiles, his hand settling on my knee. "Thanks for the heads up. You really think it'll be that bad?"

I shrug. "Maybe. It's hard to know with my dad."

Steve smiles, leaning over me, pressing his lips to mine. I cup his cheeks, pulling him closer to me, his hands falling by my sides to hold his weight off of me. He holds himself up, though I wouldn't have minded if he'd put a little more of his body on me. It's a very nice body. I shift my body a little, my legs framing his hips. He lowers himself as he kisses me, using his elbows to hold himself up. It's the most intimate we've been in almost a month of being together. I was ready for more, but I was also nervous. I didn't want to push him into doing something he wasn't ready for, and I was worried it wouldn't be good, seeing how I have no skills in that department. Steve was only the second guy I'd ever kissed. The first had been a sloppy midnight kiss on New Years when I was 16. I don't even remember the guy's name.

Steve tilts his head, deepening the kiss as he presses closer to me. His body is warm over mine as he tentatively licks at my bottom lip. I run my hands down his strong shoulders as I open my mouth to him, his tongue meeting mine. He tastes like blueberry cheesecake and whipped cream from the dessert he'd been eating while I'd called my dad. I tangle my hands in his hair, messing up the perfectly styled strands. Even with his new haircut he managed to keep it styled perfectly. Except for when he'd been wearing the helmet with the suit. I got a glimpse into what his sex hair will look like after those times.

Steve pulls away a few minutes later, panting slightly as he stares down at me. His lips are red and kiss swollen and I'm sure I don't look much different. My fingers slide from his hair, wrapping around his neck. My eyes flutter closed as he leans down again, his nose gently brushing against mine as he kisses me softly this time. It's gentle and sweet and so very different from what we had just been doing.

Steve pulls away from me, mauvering me so I'm on my side and he slips between me and the back of the couch. He pulls me against his chest so I don't fall off, one of his arms moving under my neck, the other resting lightly over my waist. I snuggle back into his warmth and he kisses my head, our attention drawn to the TV.

I hadn't even known I was asleep until I wake up a few hours later. The TV is playing some infomercial for some product and I reach over to the coffee table to grab the remote, shutting it off. Steve is fast asleep behind me, my head resting on his bicep, his arm wrapped around my waist. His chest is warm against my back, his breath fanning against my neck. I don't know what time it is, but I'm not about to move to find out. I reach back, grabbing the blanket off the back of the couch, managing to get it over both of us before I snuggle back against Steve's chest, drifting off to sleep again.

I wake up to Steve's alarm blaring. Steve is shifting behind me, his arms tightening around me for a moment before he moves, reaching to grab his phone out of his pocket. He shifts against me and I can't help but press back closer to him, all hard muscle and...something else. Steve freezes as I move, the alarm still blaring as he waits for me to make the next move. I don't have to see his face to know he's going to be embarrassed. Apparently even Captain America gets morning wood. From what I can tell from my position, it's impressive wood too. I don't move again, letting him turn off the alarm.

He starts to move again, trying to get out from his spot between me and the couch. I was stiff and sore from laying in the same position, and I knew he had to be too. But I wasn't quite ready to let him go yet. I grab his shirt before he can slide completely out, his body hovering over mine. I open my eyes, looking up to his face. It's still dark out, the apartment lit up slightly by the streetlight below. I know he can see better in the dark than I can, part of the reason why he never turned lights on when he left for his runs. I know he can see more of my face than I can of his, but that doesn't matter.

"Don't go…" My voice is soft, nothing more than a whisper from being unused from sleep.

He doesn't say anything, leaning down to press his lips to mine. It's soft and sweet, but there's emotion behind it. I can feel it as he wraps his arms around my back, lifting me off the couch. He lifts me easily, standing up as he continues to kiss me. I wrap my arms around his neck even though I trust him not to drop me. He could lift me with one arm and a car with the other. I didn't worry too much as he makes his way back towards the hallway, making for his bedroom.


	41. Steve Learns the Truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve wants to take things further, but Zinny has a confession to make first.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay but it's finals week next week and given my current health situation I've been having to give my energy to school work, but I have one final left so I'll have a little time to dedicate to writing. Once school is over I'll have a couple weeks between terms to focus on writing so I'll hopefully get some more chapters out between doctor's appointments.

Our lips part as Steve drops me on his bed. It's firmer than mine, but there's still enough give to it to call it comfortable. His sheets smell like fresh linen, clean from laundry day yesterday. The sun is starting to rise, casting a pink glow on the walls. Steve stands there, staring down at me, his hair mussed and his shirt slightly wrinkled from sleeping on the couch. I can see the bulge through his pants, straining against his jeans. The sight of his has my mouth going dry, nerves starting to eat at my stomach.

His hand finds my leg, his fingers tracing the skin over my ankle. It was a normal touch, something I was used to. He'd massaged my feet more times than I could remember. But there was something different about the touch this time, something more...emotional. It wasn't just a friendly foot rub this time.

He kneels on the bed, his hand sliding upwards, getting up past my knee before I can't take it anymore. I sit up, his movements stopping completely as he looks up at me. I want him to keep going, but I know I have to tell him the truth.

He sits up, his hands leaving me. For a moment I miss his touch, but that painful ball of nerves in my stomach reminds me why he moved them in the first place. I'm terrified, not knowing how much this could change things between us. He could easily turn away and reject me still. Break things off because I'm not what he expected. Because I didn't tell him the truth right away.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Steve's eyes are full of concern and I can see the worry on his face.

"I-It's nothing...I just...I have something to tell you."

Steve sits back nodding. "Alright. You can tell me."

I take a deep breath, knowing it'll just be better to spit out the truth. "I'm a virgin."

He's silent for a moment. It's deafening, my heart pounding in my ears. There's disbelief on his face and it stings just a bit. I mean, why would Tony Stark's daughter be a virgin? The well known playboy's own kid wouldn't be a virgin, would she?

Steve smiles and it throws me off a bit. "It's alright."

I have to do a double take. That was not what I was expecting at all. I flounder for a moment, Steve's face morphing into that ridiculous half grin.

"I'm glad you told me." He moves up the bed, sitting down beside me. "Your first time should be special. And I want to make it special for you."

I'm still floundering, looking up at him with probably the most ridiculous face ever. "You...you...do? You don't...care that I'm a...I'm not…"

Steve chuckles. "I don't care. I don't have much experience myself to be honest."

I hold in my sigh of relief. "Really?"

He nods. "Really. But I do want to make it special for you."

I can see the relief on his face. More than likely the relief that I didn't just tell him he was a numerous notch in my belt and he was worried about being inexperienced compared to me. But now that table's been flipped and it turns out I'm more inexperienced than he is. Sure, I had figured Steve had been the perfect gentleman back in his day and morals were a little tighter back then, but I hadn't been expecting him to have a little experience under his own belt. A part of me wanted to know, but another part of me knew I didn't. I could already put pieces together, and I wasn't about to make myself jealous about something that had happened before my dad was even born.

I smile up at him, leaning into his side. "Thank you."

Steve smiles, kissing my head as he holds me close. "You're welcome. You deserve it."

I grin as he lays us back, my head resting on his chest. His heart is strong and steady under my ear, lulling me into a relaxed state. His hand rubs my back, his breathing even as I close my eyes, taking him in.

I don't even realize I'd fallen asleep again until the smell of bacon wakes me. I'm under the covers in Steve's bed, the other side still warm. The sun is shining into the window so I know it has to be well into the morning. Steve has the radio playing, and I can't help but smile. I stretch my arms over my head, playing the events of a few hours ago in my head. I'm happy, ecstatic about what had happened and they way things went. I had planned for the worst in the five seconds I'd had between making the decision to tell him and actually doing it. But for once, things had happened for the best.

I slip out of bed, heading into the kitchen, Steve standing there in a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt. His back is on display in the tight shirt that I definitely didn't buy small on purpose. I watch his muscles move for a few moments as he cooks, plating the bacon and eggs, the toast popping up in the toaster.

I go to the fridge and grab the orange juice, Steve turning to me and smiling. "Hi, doll."

I smile, leaning up to kiss him. "Good morning, Steve."

I grab a couple glasses as he finishes plating the food and we head to the table. We make small talk as we eat, the morning going by as Steve heads off to SHIELD and I start on my house-wifing. I clean the entire apartment, calling my dad to talk to him as I clean. I take my time, Steve coming home around the time I finish. We make dinner together, spending the night cuddled up on the couch before we head to Steve's room to call it a night.

This pattern continues for a week before we start preparing for our trip up to New York for the 4th and Steve's birthday. I'm excited to see my dad again, but slightly nervous for what his reaction is going to be once we get there. It will be the first time I've seen him since I went to live with Steve, and the first time since Steve and I started dating. I know it took a lot for him to send me to live with Steve in the first place, and now we're dating. I know my dad doesn't like Steve very much, their opposite personalities and world views were recipe for a disaster as I'd seen with their first encounter way back on the helicarrier. If that was anything to go off of, then this was going to be an interesting trip.


	42. Return to New York

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zinny and Steve return to New York for Steve's birthday.

My dad was surprisingly happy to see us when we arrived in New York. Steve and I took the easy route and flew back to New York. We had considered driving, but it being close to a holiday meant everyone would be travelling which meant it would take twice as long to get from D.C. to New York. So I had my dad send the private jet down so we could skip over the horrible traffic until we landed in New York. Perks of being rich, I guess.

Happy had been waiting for us when we landed, putting our suitcases in the trunk before driving us back to the tower. It felt weird being in New York after so long. I can't say I totally missed it, but D.C. was a different city. I felt like a different person in D.C. I could be Steve's Zinny when I was there. Here, I was the Stark Princess who ate at expensive restaurants and went shopping at stores that only booked appointments. In D.C. I could pretend I was a normal person. A person whose name didn't get recognized and didn't cause a stampede of paparazzi every time I left the house. But in New York I was under my dad's shadow. There were press on every corner, hoping for a glance at a celebrity doing something or anything, even just walking down the street.

I had been nervous the entire flight, thinking up all of the ways he'd react and a lot of them ended with me playing referee. But when we arrived in the penthouse to greet my father, he welcomed us with open arms. Well, he welcomed me with open arms. I had hugged him graciously, taking him in. I had missed him.

As much as I loved my new life in D.C. with Steve, I still missed my dad. He seemed to be doing well. At least, he looked well. He had told me during one of our conversations over the phone that Pepper was staying at the tower as much as she could. He had stopped manically building suits, instead focusing on upgrades to the tower and his current suit. I know it's good for him to tinker. As long as he's eating and sleeping regularly then his tinkering was fine with me. He smells like the same cologne as always, bringing back memories. At least that hasn't changed.

"I missed you, Zinny."

"I missed you too, daddy."

He pulls away, holding me at arms length. "You look good. Healthy and happy."

I smile. "I am happy. Very happy." He smiles, obviously relieved with what he sees.

Then his attention turns to Steve. I can see the range of emotions that cross his face in a matter of seconds. I can tell he's somewhere between knocking Steve's teeth in or throwing him off the top of the tower. Thankfully, he goes with neither of those options, and instead holds his hand out to Steve.

Steve steps up next to me, shaking his hand as I greet Pepper.

"Captain. Good to see you're taking care of my daughter."

Steve nods. "Of course, Mr. Stark. I promised I wouldn't let anything happen to her. And I intend to keep that promise."

My dad looks satisfied with that answer. "Good. That means I don't have to hurt you."

Pepper and my dad have lunch delivered from a Chinese restaurant down the street. Steve and I had eaten our share of takeout in D.C., but there's something about food in New York that makes it so different. After lunch they let Steve and I settle in, Steve going to his respective floor and I go back to my room. It still looks the same as I left it, everything still in its place. I remember the last time I had been in my room and the conversation I'd had with my dad. It makes me wonder if he'd done what I said.

"Little Flower?"

I turn around, my dad standing in my doorway. "Hi daddy."

He smiles, coming in and closing the door. I knew we were about to have a conversation and I could already deduce who it would be about.

He steps in front of me, holding me at arms length again, looking me over. "Are you really alright? Steve really has been good to you?"

I roll my eyes. "Dad, Steve is amazing. A perfect gentleman."

"He hasn't tried anything? You know...forced himself on you…"

I screw my face up, ready to move on from this conversation. "No, dad, he's-"

He interrupts me, obviously not listening. "Because if he is, I want you to tell me. I'd gladly rearrange his face. Take care of the problem."

"Dad, there's no-"

He interrupts me again. "I'll make it look like an accident of course. 'America's hero killed when he tragically forgets he can't fly.'"

"Dad! I'm a virgin."

It's his turn to make a face. "Okay! I didn't need that many details!"

"Well, I was trying to tell you! Steve's not like that. He's a real gentleman. We didn't even start sleeping in the same bed until a week ago."

My dad nods slowly. "Yeah. A real prude." I slap his arm. "Okay! Okay! I'm just glad you're okay and happy. I haven't seen you smile like that in a long time."

I can't help but smile. "Dad, stop."

He gives me a melancholy look. "Just don't forget your old man, alright?"

"I'd never forget you, dad. You wouldn't let me."

He laughs. "That's true." He wraps his arm around my shoulder. "Come on. I'll show you what I've been working on."

My dad and I spend the afternoon in his lab, going over his newest upgrades to the suit. I get him caught up on everything that's gone on in my life since I'd been in D.C while we spend time together just like old times. I missed it a little, being able to lose track of time with him in his lab, Pepper exasperated as she tells us a fourth time that we have dinner reservations in an hour. I did miss this part of being around him. But I guess that's part of growing up. Moving on from things you used to do so when you get the chance to go back and do them again they're all the more special.

Sleeping without Steve was strange. We'd only shared a bed for a week, but I had gotten used to having him there. He's warm and strong and comforting and I felt safe around him. The nightmares had stopped since we'd started sharing a bed. Needless to say I couldn't sleep that night. I tossed and turned, trying to get comfortable but I couldn't get in the right position.

I finally gave up around midnight, slipping out of my room, heading down to Steve's floor. I thought about warning him that I was coming, but I figured he wouldn't be surprised. Not as surprised as I was when I found him standing outside the elevator doors when it stopped on his floor.

He looked just as surprised as me. "Zinny?"

I smile a little. "Couldn't sleep?"

He nods. "Just not the same."

I take his hand, walking back to the door of his apartment. "Then let's fix that."

I knew my dad would be pissed in the morning if he found out I was with Steve instead of in my room. But we're both adults and I wanted, no, needed Steve to sleep and I wasn't about to suffer through a sleepless night when he was a few floors below me. And it seemed he had the same idea I'd had. Though I figured it would be better if my dad found me missing from my bed than if he found Steve and I together. Sure, he'd probably panic a little, but JARVIS recorded everything so he'd know I'd gone to be with Steve. If he got upset about it, he could deal with me in the morning.


	43. Learning Experience

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve and Zinny get back from New York and some...experiences happen.

My dad didn't say anything about Steve and I. In fact, my dad didn't say anything about me not using my room our entire stay. He probably wanted to, or he flat out didn't know. I was willing to bet my money on the former. But he also probably knew he couldn't stop us and it was bound to happen.

My dad had always been the number one guy in my life. He'd been the only guy in my life for most of it, and growing up he'd made sure he was number one. But now he was being demoted to number two in my life and he wasn't happy about it. But he's my dad. He'll always be special to me. He'll always be there, always a part of my life. And right now, Steve would to. I couldn't say what would happen in a year, or even what would happen in a week. There was always a chance Steve could leave on a SHIELD mission and not return. Just like there was a chance my dad could fly out in his suit to stop a bad guy and not come home. But no matter what, for the time being, they'd both be a part of my life. Rather my dad liked it or not.

Steve's birthday went well, Pepper and I went out and got him a cake and we celebrated with a barbeque and fireworks for Independence Day. Of course, my dad had to throw in a snarky comment about America's hero being born on the 4th of July. That earned him a look from both Pepper and I and my dad was, once again, shamed into silence.

Overall our trip to New York went well. I had certainly planned for the worst, arguments and physical fights and having to referee a bout between my dad and my boyfriend. Yeah, that would have looked great in the headlines the next morning. Stark's Completely Lost It: Billionaire Superhero Attacks Daughter's Boyfriend Who Also Happens To Be Captain America. Yeah, that was one PR disaster we didn't need.

Steve and I fly back to D.C., taking a taxi back to his apartment. I pay the taxi driver extra to keep his mouth shut, which thankfully he does. As much as I love New York, it certainly felt good to be back in D.C. I had started to think of it as home. New York would always have a special place in my heart, but D.C. was home to me now. Steve is home.

Both of us crash on the couch as soon as we get into the apartment. It's almost an hour flight from New York to D.C., but I was exhausted. Steve was wide awake as usual, looking off into the distance like some dramatic knight in a fantasy movie. I lay down on the couch, putting my head in his lap. His hand threads into my hair, gently massaging my scalp. I smile, relaxing. He knows exactly how to turn me into putty in his hands.

I wake up two hours later alone on the couch. I can hear Steve moving around in the kitchen, a wonderful smell wafting through the house. I sit up, stretching my stiff limbs out before heading into the kitchen. Steve is slaving over the stove, cooking up something that smells like heaven. I come up behind him, wrapping my arms around his waist, my head resting against his back. I can feel his muscles flex as he stirs whatever's in the pot, and I get the sudden urge to run my nails down his back. The mental picture of him over me, muscles flexing as he moves, my hands all over him, feeling those muscles.

A rush of heat runs through my body, filling me with desire. I press closer to him, biting my lip as I clench my thighs together. I let my hands lay flat against his stomach, feeling the ridges of his abs under his thin shirt. He smells like aftershave and the scent of Steve. It's hard to describe his scent. He has a very particular one. Maybe it was the serum or maybe it was just Steve. I couldn't be sure, but I wasn't going to complain about his scent.

He turns in my arms, smiling down at me. I stand on my toes, leaning up to kiss him. His body is warm and solid and I could have stayed there forever. But sadly he had to pull away to finish dinner. He wouldn't let me help so I resorted to standing and watching him. I could do that forever too. The way he moved, his uncanny ability to concentrate on ten things at once. It was amazing to me. Yes, I spent a lot of time watching him, but if you had him in front of you, you'd be watching him too. A lot of people watched him when we walked down the street. Women often turned as we passed. It didn't really bother me. I knew he'd turn heads, even before the world knew who he was. I was used to it though, my dad turning heads everywhere he went. I'd grown up used to it, and I didn't let it bother me now.

Steve never looked at other women in a way that made me feel insecure. He was polite, called women ma'am, held doors open, helped old ladies carry heavy bags of groceries to their car. But he never gave any women that he passed a second look. Not even when they practically threw themselves at him. My dad used to be all over those kinds of women. But Steve just politely refused and we went on our way. He was different. Refreshing. It was a nice change.

Steve and I eat dinner in relative silence. He reads the real news while I flip through social media and some tabloids. Getting caught up on all the exaggerated celebrity gossip and "news." I help him do the dishes and clean up the kitchen before we retire to the couch for the night. There's nothing really on TV, just a handful of prime time shows and sports. Steve settles for a baseball game, and I curl up against his side.

It's dark by the time the game ends, though Steve and I aren't paying any attention at this point. We've moved positions on the couch, too busy exploring each other to notice anything else. His lips are on mine, soft and sweet as we kiss, his hands firmly on my hips, holding me in place. I can feel him, pressing up against me.

"Steve." I pull away a little, his lips trying to chase mine.

"Yes, doll?"

"I need you."

I can see the change at those three words. His eyes darken, his pupils expanding, his grip on my waist becoming just that much tighter. He licks his lips, scooping me up into his arms, carrying me back towards his room. Was this really going to happen now? I was more than ready for it regardless. Steve lays me down on his bed, kicking the door closed. It's just the two of us in the apartment, so I didn't see the need for it, but if it made him feel more comfortable then that was alright with me. Steve pulls his shirt over his head, climbing onto the bed. He presses his body down against mine, warm, hard muscle pressing me into the bed. His lips find mine again, this kiss urgent and passionate. It has my body tingling and my toes curling. I can feel his need for me in the kiss, and I pour all of mine into the kiss as well.

Steve's hands are all over, tracing my skin, feeling me like it's for the first time. His hand slides under my shirt, his hand rough and hot, making me shiver. We'd never gone into this territory before. Steve had kept his hands in modest places, mostly. But it had always been over my clothes. He hadn't ever ventured under. Always the perfect gentleman.

His lips leave mine as his hand rides higher, pulling up my shirt with it. His lips make a trail down my jaw, settling under my ear. He nips lightly at the skin there, making me moan. I can feel his smile against my skin, his breath hot against my ear as he leans up slightly.

"I want to make it special for you. But that doesn't mean we have to keep our hands to ourselves."

He sits up as I ponder his words, pulling my shirt over my head. I hadn't planned for this so my bra isn't anything special, but it doesn't matter to Steve. His hands trail down my sides, tickling the skin lightly. He stops when he reaches the waistband of my leggings, his fingers making a trail teasingly along the skin above it.

"I love it when you wear these."

I make a mental note, watching as he pulls my legs up to strip me of my leggings too. I'm left in my underwear, Steve in his jeans. His fingers trace lightly up my legs, taking the time to feel and explore, leaving me shivering. I could already feel a dampness pooling between my legs, and he had barely touched me. He was going to be the death of me.

His fingers trail up my inner thighs, the muscles there already trembling in anticipation. He traces the outline of my underwear, looking up at me for approval. I nod my head, keeping my gaze down on him as he slowly peels my underwear down my legs. I flush red, more exposed now than I'd ever been to anyone before. My legs instinctively start to close to hide myself but he peels them back open, grinning up at me.

"Don't. You're beautiful, doll." They may be cliche, but they work. Those words had me parting my legs letting him see me.

His hands move to my inner thighs, holding my legs open as he stares down at me. I can feel the gnawing insecurity in the back of my head but he's smiling, his thumbs finding my outer lips to hold me open. Arousal is heavy in the air and I can only imagine what it smells like to him with his enhanced everything. He doesn't show any sign of disapproval or disgust, in fact he leans in closer. That must be a good sign.

One of his hands leaves my thighs, his thumb soft as a feather as it brushes over my mound. The sensation is new to me, and it has me shivering. It's unlike anything I'd ever felt before. Better than anything I'd ever felt before. He does it again, applying more pressure this time and I gasp when he reaches a part at the top of my slit. He pauses there and I look down at him.

"Right there." I gasp out, my back arching a little.

He applies more pressure, slowly circling his thumb over the mound of nerves. My head falls back, my breathing picking up as new sensations wash over me, more pleasure than I'd ever felt coursing through me. I can feel more wetness forming below, some of it dripping onto the bed. Steve grins that ridiculous half grin, his other hand venturing down lower. One of his fingers probes at my entrance, the slick helping it glide inside me. It's another strange feeling, my walls clamping down instinctively around him.

"Shh. Relax for me, doll."

I close my eyes, focusing on his thumb moving, easing around his finger. It's thick and stretches me a little as he pushes it further into me. I grip the bed sheets as he starts moving his finger, slowly at first, letting me relax. It's an odd sensation, but it feels good all at the same time.

He continues to move his finger, both of his hands picking up speed. My back arches as I press my hips into the air, my hands pulling at the bed sheets as new sensations wash over me. I gasp as he applies more pressure on my clit, a second finger probing at my entrance.

"Steve…" I don't know if it'll fit, my walls clamping down in my worry.

He slows his movements, the hand on my clit leaving as he slides up my body. His thumb on his other hand takes its place, slowly circling my clit as he presses a second finger into me. He shushes me as he kisses me, the stretch painful but the sensations coming from where his thumb is at are slowly driving the pain away. I wrap my arms around his neck as he kisses me, slowly working his two fingers in and out of me. His name is a breath on my lips as the pleasure increases, my hips moving with his hand, trying to find something.

"Oh god, Steve…" He nips at my bottom lip, his eyes meeting mine.

My back arches as he hits something inside me, sending pure pleasure up my nerve endings. I press my chest closer to his, my fingers tangling in his hair. He continues to hit that spot, my legs shaking as I grow closer to something, a looming edge that's been getting closer and closer.

"Let go."

The intensity in his eyes is enough to make me do as he says, my back arching as I call out his name, my thighs clamping around his hand as white pleasure clouds my brain. I feel like I could reach up and touch the stars as everything in my body trembles.

I'm pressed against Steve's chest as I come back from my high, his hands gently caressing my skin. I'm aware of the very prominent bulge pressing against my side, Steve pressing gentle kisses all over my face. I smile, my body still buzzing slightly.

"That was amazing."

Steve smiles. "Welcome back. I'm glad it was good."

"Amazing. Better than good. And that was just your fingers."

Steve grins at me. "I know. I'll be gentle when it does happen."

I nod. "I know. I trust you."

He smiles down at me, kissing my lips softly. "I'm glad."

I slowly trail my hand down his stomach as he kisses me, my hand playing with the button on his jeans. "What are we going to do about this?"

Steve pulls away a little. "I can take care of it. Don't worry about it."

I shake my head. "I want to help you."

Steve looks conflicted for a moment, but he nods, popping the button on his jeans. "Alright."

I help him strip out of them and his underwear. I'd never seen him fully before, and I can't help my eyes from going wide. I have no idea how he's even going to fit inside me. Two fingers had been a stretch, but he had to be at least the equivalent of three. Turns out the serum had enhanced  _everything._

Steve gently cups my face, seeing my obvious internal struggle at the size of him. "Don't worry. You don't have to do this."

I shake my head. "It's not that...you're so big!"

Steve smirks a little. "Thank you, doll."

I give him a look. "I mean...I don't know how that will fit inside me."

He brushes a hand over my head. "It will. Don't worry. We'll cross that bridge when we get there."

I nod. He's right. Right now we were exploring. I let my hand slide down his stomach further, hesitantly reaching out and taking his length in my hand. It's hot and heavy, stiff as a rock but oddly soft. I run my hand along the length, Steve taking a shuddering breath in. His hand closes over mine, showing me how much pressure to apply and I repeat that motion, Steve's eyes fluttering shut. He shifts a little, his hips jerking as I pump his length.

His breathing picks up, small moans coming from his lips as I move my hand faster. I watch his muscles tense as his moans get louder, his hand cupping the back of my head as he pulls me in for a kiss, moaning against my lips as his body shudders. His hips jerk against my hand, something hot and wet hitting my hand and my stomach. He's panting as he relaxes, pulling away from my lips. I let him go, Steve opening his eyes and smiling at me. I smile back, leaning in to peck his lips again. I could get used to this.


End file.
